Spanish Tennis Federation Names Fernando Fernández-Ladreda President

Fernando Fernández-Ladreda "has been named as the new president" of the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET), replacing José Luis Escañuela, who "stood down over mis-management charges," according to the AFP. He said in a statement, "My first objective is to restore normalcy on both the institutional and sporting fronts." The appointment "came swiftly" after Escañuela agreed to "stand down from the position following his one-month suspension" by the Spanish government's disciplinary committee for sports for "failing to collaborate" in a probe into the organization's finances. His "management style was also blasted" by Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in a damning open letter (AFP, 7/3). MARCA reported the RFET selected Conchita Martínez to head up the team in place of Gala Léon. The Federation is scheduled to "officially present" Martínez as Léon's replacement to Spain's Superior Sports Council (CSD) on Monday, with a "permanent replacement to be decided on after the tournament" (MARCA, 7/5).