Tennis player Tommy Haas on Friday was announced as the new BNP Paribas Open Tournament Dir, replacing Raymond Moore, and Haas said that one of his first priorities "will be to make sure the women's players feel welcome at the event" after the fallout of Moore's comments during the most recent event, according to Andrew John of the Palm Springs DESERT SUN. Haas: "They’re going to feel very welcome. We need the women, just like always. It’s a combined event and to have one of the best tournaments where the best female players and the best male players come together is such an important thing for us, and we know that." John noted Haas and tournament owner Larry Ellison "have had a longstanding friendship," and Haas "first initiated the dialog last October, when Steve Simon left the post" to become WTA CEO. Haas said that he initially "plans to allow the current staff to run the day-to-day operations," and he "eventually plans to make the Coachella Valley home, at least for a part of the year." Haas, who is still an active player on the ATP Tour despite recently having season-ending surgery, has "relationships with players in both the ATP and WTA, in addition to sponsors, and has lived with his fiance in Southern California for the past seven years." He said that he "sees his role as being the steward of the event, which has grown exponentially" under Ellison's watch, since '09, and "being the one who makes sure that it continues to grow even beyond being one of the top tournaments in the world" (Palm Springs DESERT SUN, 6/4).
