New WTA Tour Head Stacey Allaster Planning No Major Changes

By Daniel Kaplan, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Allaster Taking Over As WTA Tour Chair & CEO

New Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Chair & CEO Stacey Allaster plans no major shakeups at the women's tour, saying her ascension "was a vote of confidence in the senior management team" at the group. The former head of Tennis Canada, Allaster was WTA President since '06 but became the odds on favorite for the top job once Larry Scott announced he would resign earlier this year. Allaster conceded the process went on longer than perhaps she would have liked, but said she learned from it. In an interview this morning, Allaster outlined no major initiatives, unsurprising given the hectic pace of change over the last few years at the tour. She said tweaks would come to the recently instituted calendar changes, and said discussions would begin soon with title sponsor Sony Ericsson, whose contract expires at the end of next year. Allaster defended the much criticized on-court state of the women's game, but conceded there were ebbs and flows in the allure of the game. She was notified last Thursday by the board that she had been selected, and negotiated a contract over the weekend that was finalized at 11:00pm ET last night. For more on the interview with Allaster, read next week's SportsBusiness Journal.