USTA makes significant job cuts, Allaster named U.S. Open tournament director

It has not been a good year for tennis (or any other sport). But things recently went from bad to worse for the USTA as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

On Monday, the USTA announced a major reorganization that includes shutting down its offices in White Plains, N.Y. and cutting 110 jobs. That represents a reduction in its national staff by 20 percent. In total, the various measures implemented to reduce costs and generally downsize the organization will save more than $20 million. Some of those measures are reducing salaries at the management level, canceling the USTA’s annual and semi-annual meetings, and eliminating select programs in both marketing and player development.

“We have an opportunity to reimagine the structure of the organization to better serve the tennis community in the United States,” stated USTA CEO Michael Dowse. “This new structure allows the USTA to be more agile and more cost effective…. Unfortunately, today represents a challenging day for many of the USTA family who have been negatively affected by the downsizing of the organization.”

The USTA’s main offices remain at the national training center in Orlando, Fla. That campus is the headquarters of player development, it hosted the 2019 collegiate national championships (will do so again in 2021), and had been rumored to be a potential site for the 2020 U.S. Open instead of New York.

Speaking of the U.S. Open, former WTA CEO and current USTA chief executive for professional tennis Stacey Allaster was named the new tournament director on Thursday. She will replace David Brewer in that role, becoming the first-ever female tournament director of any Grand Slam event.

“Stacey Allaster is an internationally renowned sports and entertainment leader, a champion of equality and an innovator in the sport of tennis,” said USTA president Patrick Galbraith. “She is the perfect leader to ensure the U.S. Open continues to thrive and attracts new generations of fans and players in the years to come, and we’re proud to welcome her as the tournament’s first-ever female tournament director.”