ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — WTA Tour chairman Steve Simon has knowledgeable the group’s board of administrators he plans to retire in December, the ladies’s tennis circuit introduced Thursday.
Simon was event director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, for 13 years earlier than he was employed as chief govt of the WTA in 2015.
Beneath his watch, the ladies’s circuit dedicated to a $400 million improve in participant compensation over the subsequent 10 years, created a basis to raise its social influence in communities world wide and entered a partnership with CVC Capital Companions to speed up industrial development and drive reinvestment within the sport.
Final yr, the WTA restructured its management, with NBA G League govt Portia Archer taking on as CEO and Simon specializing in strategic growth and governance as chairman.
Simon has been a goal for criticism. Final yr, he and the tour had been sued by Ukrainian tennis participant Lesia Tsurenko due to the best way it has dealt with Russian and Belarusian gamers amid the battle in Ukraine.
In 2023, Corridor of Famers Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova questioned how he may log off on a profitable three-year cope with Saudi Arabia to host the WTA Finals regardless of questions on LGBTQ+ and ladies’s rights there.
Simon additionally led a WTA boycott of China from 2021-23 over considerations about Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai’s well-being. Peng dropped out of public view after she accused a Chinese language authorities official of sexual assault. China was allowed to host tournaments once more after the WTA obtained assurances from folks near Peng that she was secure and residing along with her household in Beijing.