INSIDE TENNIS TALKS WITH THE NEWLY ELECTED ITF PRESIDENT DAVE HAGGERTY – THE MAN WHO LEADS TENNIS ORGANIZATIONS
By Bill Simons
Dare we note that the first President of the International Tennis Federation actually went down in the Titanic and, to sustain the theme, critics complained that of late the group has moved with a certain glacial speed. Now, with the election of New Jersey’s Dave Haggerty, there are hopes for change. For starters, in today’s culture, it’s stunning that an American would even be selected to head an international sports group. But, Haggerty has a great serve and an even better resume. He was a nationally ranked junior; the Captain of his George Washington University tennis team; the top exec at Dunlop, Prince and Head; the President of the Tennis Industry Association and the President of the USTA. There he said his goal was “making the 800-pound gorilla into a 400-pound gorilla.” He went on to initiate the USTA’s groundbreaking move to Lake Nona, Florida.
Here is our conversation with the man who has led more tennis organizations than anyone who comes to mind.
INSIDE TENNIS: The Davis Cup is the big issue. It’s front and center. A whirlwind of criticism has gone on for a long time in terms of its format. Are you going to address this and try to get some kind of Final Four format set up? Another suggestion is to have it every other year.
DAVE HAGGERTY: I’ve worked to look at a number of different options, including a neutral site final. A Final Four concept is one I find quite interesting and possibly the best solution. Also I’ve looked at having events every other year with eight to sixteen teams – very large events. But the fact is that the bylaw rules and the ITF constitution would have to be changed at the annual general meeting and there would have to be a vote. My sense is that it’s not going to be too great a departure from where we are in order for it to be acceptable. That’s certainly one of the areas that I’m focused on. Really, the most important thing is to develop the game, and to do that we need to do to get more funds so we can work with the nations so that they can grow tennis and do the good work they do even better.
IT: The ITF supposedly makes $25 million off of the Davis Cup, but if it were marketed it’s said the ITF could make much more – at least four times more than that.
DH: The whole idea is to increase the revenue of the Davis Cup and Fed Cups, to make them more interesting so we have the funds to then grow tennis. The ideas we’ve talked about could have significant positive revenue implications. So I’m set to do my homework and work with the board and the nations to come up with the format, and work with the ATP and the WTA and various partners in the industry to collaborate and get support behind this great new format, whatever it ends up being.
IT: You did say the Final Four format was probably the most appealing format.
DH: What I like about it is that you can play it over a one-week period, where you can play the semifinals the first three days, have a day of rest and then come back and play the finals. It’s something that the players will understand, and something fans would enjoy watching. You go to a mutual site where you’re able to promote it in advance by a good number of months, where you’d have a host city that wants to have a Final Four. From a broadcast perspective, it would be easier to display it and get great awareness around the world because people will be able to watch it over a limited period of time. It’s the best team competition in the world, so I just see a lot of positives, a lot of reasons why people could gravitate to this concept.
IT: We have a situation this year where Andy Murray is the only one of the truly top players to be playing Davis Cup. Belgium did a great job to get to the finals, but they got there without having to face any top players. Switzerland didn’t have either Federer and Wawrinka. Canada was without Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil, and Argentina didn’t have Juan Monaco. Do you think this Final Four format will address the issue of having the top names in the game actually play?
DH: It certainly would be a concept they could look at, because by having a Final Four event, you essentially eliminate the week that just took place. From a calendar perspective, the players’ schedules are so full. If there are ways to make it more manageable so that they see what their investment of time would be, they would be very open to considering other possibilities.
IT: You’ve been involved with the ITF and tennis for so long. Is there one favorite moment in your travels that you found particularly poignant, whether it was on a back court in Chile or at a Davis Cup or Fed Cup tie?
DH: Last year’s Davis Cup tie between France and Switzerland. It was such a great moment of celebration, seeing some great players play in a completely filled football stadium with a roof. It was a great atmosphere.
IT: The late USTA president Bob Cookson said that his favorite tennis moment was the conga line that Yannick Noah led when the French upset the US in Davis Cup. What does it say that Yannick Noah at 55 is coming back to be Davis Cup captain for France?
DH: Yannick has always been around tennis. In many ways he’s certainly a great figurehead. Tennis has meant a lot to him in his life. He’s been quoted as saying if it were not for tennis he wouldn’t be the man he is. It’s great to see him now coming back in a leadership role with the [French Tennis] Federation and Davis Cup.
IT: People are astonished that in the current international atmosphere an American actually got himself elected to head an international ruling body.
DH: One of the primary reasons was the international experience I’ve had at Prince, Dunlop Slazenger, and at Head. I’ve worked internationally and was in charge of global marketing, so I understand international tennis and have traveled on tennis business to many of those countries. That combined with the fact that I was the chairman of the US Open and the USTA and dealt with the players at an international event, a Grand Slam.
This made me appear to be more of an international player, as opposed to just an American or someone with a narrower scope who was just focused on his country. I’ve served on international committees, had some exposure and traveled to meet many of the people that were [in the different tennis] federations.
IT: Still your your emergence was incredible. What was the key?
DH: A lot of it had to do with my timing, the timing of my business career. I spent a lot of time on the volunteer side with the USTA and that coincided with Francesco’s [Ricci Bitti] announcement to retire as ITF President. If it had been two years earlier or later, it wouldn’t have worked for me. Things just lined up in a way that made sense for me to pursue it with my background and experience.
IT: Tennis organizations are seen as a kind of balkanized, alphabet soup. Simply put, what is the ITF and why does it matter?
DH: The ITF is the governing body of tennis on a global basis. We’ve a lot of potential to continue to work with the Grand Slams and the ATP and the WTA and allied tennis community to grow the game worldwide and make it a sport that more people want to play and more people make their living from.
IT: You’re still playing, and your serve is still pretty good – right?
DH: [Laughs] I’m still playing and the serve’s there when I play, usually, but not all of the time.
IT: How did you do when you were on the George Washington University team?
DH: I was really fortunate to play on a very good team. We worked hard and had fun. One of my fond memories was being elected into the tennis Hall of Fame there and I still hold the university record for most matches won in singles and doubles. It’s still out there.
