National Rugby League chief executive Andrew Abdo is set to make one of the great leaps across Australia’s sporting dividewith reports linking him to a job with Tennis Australia.
His resignation from the NRL was widely reported on Monday, but the new leadership structure at one of most influential organisations in world tennis remains unclear.
Abdo replaced Todd Greenberg as NRL chief executive in 2020 having spent much of the preceding decade in a commercial role at the organisation.
Alongside influential Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys, Abdo has consolidated rugby league’s financial health and expanded the competition’s footprint into Papua New Guinea and Western Australia.
He is set to leave just as negotiations intensify over the next NRL broadcast and player pay deals.
Craig Tiley, chief executive at Tennis Australia, announced earlier this year he would be taking on the same role with the US Tennis Association.
International executive recruitment firm Egon Zehnder has been responsible for finding Tiley’s replacement since his departure was announced in February.
The plan at that stage was for Tiley to stay for “the coming months” to support a smooth transition.
Speculation around contenders to replace him included Tom Larner, the current chief tennis officer, chief of events Stephen Farrow, as well as Tennis Queensland chief executive, Cameron Pearson.
Tiley’s departure, after more than two decades with Tennis Australia, represents a significant shift in the country’s sporting landscape. His tenure has not been perfect – his inability to prevent Novak Djokovic’s deportation was a blow to the executive who portrays himself as player-friendly – but under his guidance the Australian Open has transitioned from a tennis event to a broader cultural phenomenon, attracting spectators interested in eating, drinking, fashion and music.
Fuelled by the Australian Open, Tennis Australia revenues are now around $700m per year, behind only the AFL and NRL among Australian sporting organisations.
