Mr. Tennis taking another bold step, back to the U.S.
May 16—As an adult, Craig Tiley aced the first two serves of his tennis life. Hit 'em 164 mph into the back corner: Thwomp, whiff. His overmatched opponents didn't even see the ball.
The first act of Tiley's journey started in 1992 in Champaign-Urbana. Hired by then-athletic director Ron Guenther to lead instruction at Atkins Tennis Center, Tiley soon found himself running the Illinois men's tennis program, first as interim coach in 1993 and permanently after that season. There were some early bumps and bruises.
Followed by unprecedented success. From 1993 to 2005, his Illinois teams went a ridiculous 274-77, topped by winning the 2003 NCAA title with a perfect 32-0 season. The program had a 64-match winning streak that ended in a 4-2 loss to UCLA in the 2004 NCAA semifinals.
Illinois was good enough to repeat, but fell just short. A year later, Tiley began Act 2 ... in faraway Australia.
Hired initially in 2005 as Australia's director of player development, Tiley soon was handed the keys to the Australian Open. He was in charge of the Grand Slam event for 21 years, adding the CEO title in 2013. Under Tiley's leadership, it skyrocketed financially and prestige-wise, turning into a must-see/play event.