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Mr Craig Tiley
Tennis Australia CEO & AO Tournament Director - Tennis Australia
About Mr Craig
LinkedIn
Craig is recognized as one of Australia’s most innovative and forward-thinking chief executives. His charismatic and passionate nature, together with his business acumen, has leveraged him to the forefront of sports administration and the leader behind Australia’s largest and most successful international sporting event.
Craig is recognized as one of Australia’s most innovative and forward-thinking chief executives. His charismatic and passionate nature, together with his business acumen, has leveraged him to the forefront of sports administration and the leader behind Australia’s largest and most successful international sporting event.
He has been the driving force behind the growth of the Australian Open into a truly global brand and one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
Craig’s incredible relationship with the players has long been a key to the success of the Australian Open right from when he was appointed Tournament Director for his first event in 2006. He was later appointed CEO of Tennis Australia in 2013.
In that time, he has led unprecedented growth in the event’s global awareness and audience, revenue, player compensation, facilities and on-site entertainment for fans. As a result, the Australian Open has continually broken attendance records and the 2023 event attracted over 900,000 fans on-site and over a billion fans globally.
Craig has also led the introduction of successful initiatives to shift the historical decline in tennis participation including the rollout of digital platforms, which has increased access to courts by over 350%. He has led the diversification of Tennis Australia with the creation of a global production unit, development of music and food partnerships, the launch of a venture capital fund and a successful incubator partnership.
Prior to joining Tennis Australia, Craig was Director of Tennis at the University of Illinois where he led the program to a national championships. He twice earned US National Coach of the year (presented by the US President at the White House), was South African Davis Cup Captain and elected to the College Tennis Hall of Fame.
Craig holds academic degrees in kinesiology, economics and business, and has been a Lieutenant in the Army where he was the sixth ever recipient of South African Army merit award.
He also serves as the Chair of the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) in Australia and is on the Board of Safety Culture, and Rising (Melbourne’s International Arts Festival).