USTA Signs Exec Dir Gordon Smith To A Second Four-Year Term

The USTA has signed GORDON SMITH "to a second four-year term as executive director, taking him through 2015," according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Smith said that terms of the deal are "similar to his first deal, which expires Dec. 31." He earned an average of $1.15M per year in the first two years of that deal. Smith said that the USTA as a whole "earned $46 million last year, up 45 percent from three years ago." In his time as Exec Dir, Smith "has focused the group’s attention on promoting recreational tennis." World TeamTennis Commissioner & CEO ILANA KLOSS: "Smith really got rid of the silos, with community tennis and pro tennis being separate." Smith identified "four key challenges for his next term: getting young people to play the game, improving the U.S. Open, increasing revenue and developing American pro champions." Kaplan notes the "big push this year for the USTA has been a new program to get kids ages 10 and younger to play" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/29 issue).