WHITE PLAINS, July 12, 2017 (USTA Press Release)
The USTA announced Tuesday that J. Wayne Richmond, currently General Manager of the US Open Series, has been promoted to the newly-created position of Managing Director, Major Events. In addition to continuing to oversee the US Open Series, Richmond’s duties will now include overseeing U.S. Team Events and the USTA Pro Circuit. Richmond and the respective business units of each of these three areas will be located at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando. Richmond will continue to report to USTA Chief Executive, Pro Tennis, Stacey Allaster.
By relocating these divisions to the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, the USTA can capitalize on natural synergies between its pro tennis, community tennis, youth tennis and Player Development divisions that are now housed at the new Home of American Tennis. The overall goal is to use all USTA assets to drive the Association’s mission of promoting the growth of tennis in the United States.
“With this new structure, the USTA will better align our professional tennis assets with our Player Development and Community Tennis goals, more effectively utilize staff time during the ebb and flow inherent in the pro tennis calendar, and develop new opportunities to drive youth participation using our professional tennis assets as a platform,” said Allaster.
In this new position, Richmond will be charged with identifying opportunities to integrate “Net Generation,” the USTA’s new youth tennis brand, into pro tennis events. Net Generation creates, for the first time, a single unified youth tennis brand for American tennis. A major goal of the USTA is to include Net Generation programming, and youth tennis players, into the presentation of the sport at every level, including the US Open.
Richmond has been involved in the US Open Series since its launch in 2004, and has served as the Series’ General Manager since 2009. In this role, Richmond leads a team that works closely with the WTA and ATP World Tour to assist each tournament with ticket sales, enhancing local and national marketing and improving the overall fan experience at each event. The team also works with ESPN on all aspects of the domestic television broadcasts from these tournaments. He has been instrumental in helping to achieve one of the major goals of the US Open Series — creating a consistent television schedule for fans that features back-to-back weekend final broadcasts throughout the U.S. WTA and ATP World Tour summer tennis season.
The USTA’s Team Event’s department is responsible for the U.S. Davis Cup, the U.S. Fed Cup and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams. The department works closely with the respective captains to assist our American teams in winning at home and away ties, and will be responsible for transforming home ties into a week-long celebration of American tennis that will support player development and community tennis goals aimed at growing the sport.
With approximately 100 tournaments hosted annually throughout the country, the USTA Pro Circuit is the pathway to the US Open and tour-level competition for aspiring tennis players as well as established pros. The USTA launched its Pro Circuit in 1979, and it has since grown to become the largest developmental tennis circuit in the world, offering more than $3 million in prize money. Administered on the local level, the USTA Pro Circuit brings world-class professional tennis to local courts nationwide.
