Pat Cash says Tennis Australia is "an old boys' club", wants to see change
- Christian Montegan
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash hopes that Craig Tiley's departure will open the door for systemic change at the top.
Last week, Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open Tournament Director Tiley confirmed he has accepted a new role as the United States Tennis Association (USTA)'s CEO.
Cash, one of Australia's most famous tennis names, is in Tasmania for the Launceston International, where he is coaching world No.371 Li Tu part-time.
"Unfortunately, the basic issue is we have an old boys' club at Tennis Australia, and it's been there for way too long," Cash told reporters.
"We have nobody on the board of Tennis Australia who's ever played tennis. When you've got all businessmen who have no experience in player development, I don't believe we're getting the opinions of the experts that are here in Australia.
"We've got a dozen of them who have coached or played in Davis Cup and are super experts, and yet businessmen get hired.
"We've got absolutely no tennis acumen in the board or player development. There's a new CEO and tournament director coming in; it needs to be someone involved in tennis.
"We had no wins, boys or girls, at Wimbledon juniors; we had one round win at the Australian Open, which is the weakest junior Grand Slam... It's a concern."
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Despite players such as Emerson Jones (17), Taylah Preston (20), and Talia Gibson (21) coming through, the junior pathway development is at a crossroads, with coaching standards being the major issue.
"The Australian Open legacy has been written, but Tennis Australia's athlete development doesn't exist," Damon Lucht, founder of Redline Tennis Academy, told The First Serve.
"[Craig Tiley's] job title is a joke. There isn't anyone alive who would try to take on both roles. The clearest indication is the purchasing and relocation of kids from foreign countries at our expense, and spending zero time as a federation with current coaches who are clearly invested in Australian tennis.
"The tournament pathway is run by Tennis Australia, from coaching, performance, and data tracking, starting from U9's."
Cash believes there has to be a certain balance between dollar signs and youth development.
"We are the only major tennis nation who doesn't have any tennis players on the board," Cash pointed out. "It clearly indicates what their priority is: to make money.
"And you need to make money. You can't have player development and these tournaments without money, but there's got to be some middle ground somewhere."
"It's almost horrifying what I see in coaching. We need better coaching at the grassroots level.
"Australia is isolated; we need some international people, and a businessperson is not going to be able to understand that."
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Craig Tiley’s departure should be the start of real change at Tennis Australia, not more of the same.
An internal succession would be the wrong move. Tennis Australia needs an external candidate to take over, restore accountability, and deal with the damage left behind after years of concentrated power and top-down management.
Pat Cash is right to describe Tennis Australia as “an old boys’ club.” That assessment will ring true for many who have watched the culture, governance and priorities of the organisation for years. The First Serve has also reported that current Chief Tennis Officer Tom Larner is the leading internal prospect and has long been seen as Tiley’s lieutenant. In my view, that is exactly why he should…
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