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Answers needed after tennis expose

Ashley Browne


Ashley Browne

Written on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 00:00

24 hours later, it is still hard to work out what to take from the ABC'S Four Corners expose into the politics of Australian tennis, or more to the point, of Tennis Australia.

On the one hand, there wasn't a whole lot of news. Paul McNamee is the figurehead for a number of prominent Australian tennis identities who yearn for change in the game. Tennis Australia believes the game is headed in the right direction and that years of neglect when it comes to junior development have been righted. All we need is just a bit more patience.

But here is what we would like answered in the wake of last night's show, and what we have observed, admittedly from a great distance.

  1. Why is McNamee so on the outer? His track record in running the Australian Open and the Hopman Cup is pretty good. Under his watch, the Open emerged from its status as the ‘fourth Grand Slam' to the equal of the other Slams. The players love it and it it brings Melbourne to a screeching halt for pretty much the entire fortnight. Craig Tiley and co have consolidated his work and the tournament continues to grow, but under McNamee it made its quantum leap. So why the turf war?
  2. Does Harold Mitchell hold a conflict of interest? The powerful TA board member now runs the new Melbourne Rebels rugby team. And he is one of the most powerful ad men in Australia. Where does he tell prospective sports sponsors to plough their dough?
  3. Managing player development for TA is a huge job. So is running the Australian Open. Tiley might be a talented person, but can he, or anyone for that matter, possibly juggle both these jobs? We don't think so.
  4. What caused Michelle Michie to sell Australian Tennis magazine to TA? We know the confidentiality agreement exists so we'll never know the answer, but an independent tennis journal would be nice. Perhaps an online entrepreneur is ready and waiting to fill this void in the market.
  5. Where was Todd Woodbridge's head at? If you're the head of men's tennis for TA, you should be able to reel off the names of the top juniors in the country in an instant and without thinking.
  6. The claim by one critic that TA has moved from a
HAVE YOUR SAY. Agree or disagree? Love or hate? Let us know what you think of this article by leaving a comment below and taking part in Australia's best independent sporting debate.


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