Tennis Australia "is adamant there was no wrongdoing involved in its sale of Australian Open broadcast rights" at a time a former board member is suing President Stephen Healy "for defamation," according to Courtney Walsh of THE AUSTRALIAN. In an interview last week, Healy said that "he was hopeful the focus on this year's Australian Open would be largely on the tennis after the turmoil of last year when allegations authorities had buried evidence of match-fixing were aired on the first day." But there are "again concerns off the court." Former tour player Janet Young, who was one of three members to quit the board on the eve of last year's Open, "has launched legal action against Healy claiming he defamed her in an email sent to all board members." The email related to a reported review of the sale in '13 of Australian Open broadcast rights from '15-19 to Seven West Media in a deal reportedly worth around A$200M. Concerns were "raised about a potential conflict of interest" and while Tennis Australia could not confirm the existence of a review, it said that "there is no wrongdoing." A statement read, "Tennis Australia has robust corporate governance and Board Members are required to fully disclose any perceived and/or potential conflict of interest. Tennis Australia is very comfortable that no such conflict existed in relation to the sale of its domestic broadcast rights. Tennis Australia will make no further comment at this time" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 1/2).
