Former Tennis Australia boss departs on bumper pay packet

Tennis Australia’s erstwhile chief executive Craig Tiley may have moved on to bigger and better things when he left the Australian tennis body to run its US counterpart earlier this year.

But if a fresh tax return filed by Tennis Australia is any indicator, Tiley left the organisation as one of the best-paid executives in the country. He pocketed $US2.5 million ($3.5 million), the biggest of his compensation packages disclosed by TA to the US Internal Revenue Service of at least the last five years. The year before, Tiley made $US1.2 million ($1.7 million).

The figure was reported in what’s known as a 990 filing in the United States, where Tennis Australia is registered as a non-profit and is required to report to the IRS annually. The latest filing covers the 12 months to September 30 last year and includes a level of detail TA doesn’t include in its annual report.

Tennis Australia, though, insists the figures don’t offer an accurate picture of its financials. Particularly, once you factor in variances in reporting periods between Australia and the US, foreign currency fluctuations and other accounting quirks, like bonuses and other payments falling between reporting cycles.

But if the figures are good enough for the US tax authorities, they’re good enough for us!

Tennis Australia’s chief commercial officer Cedric Cornelis , meanwhile, made $US812,027 ($1.1 million) last year, and the sporting body’s chief strategy and performance officer, Timothy Jolley , took home $US561,337 ($782,678) for the same period.

TA’s chief operating officer Thomas Larner made $US506,282 ($705,914), while Katrina Blair , the organisation’s chief financial officer, made $US694,816 ($968,789). US Open and Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt , who is also Tennis Australia’s Davis Cup captain, took in $US264,547 ($368,860), while US Open champion Samantha Stosur , also Tennis Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup captain, made $US268,975 ($375,034).

Tennis Australia announced Tiley’s resignation in February, before announcing former NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo as the organisation’s new boss in May.