I knew ITF Executive Director Dave Haggerty when he headed Prince, then Head, and then became the President of the USTA. His quiet authority, his fine serve and distinctive mustache are things I recognize. So when I saw him in the Aussie Open media room I was comfortable enough to approach him for a chat.
INSIDE TENNIS: Before we get all serious, let’s start light. If you could take a selfie with someone, who would it be?
DAVE HAGGERTY: Winston Churchill. He had such a big impact on the world through some tough times of war. He was a statesman navigating some pretty tough waters. I also liked the way that he used food and wine and was able to have dialogues and get a lot of good information and share a lot of information in social settings, not just in boardrooms.
IT: If you could change one thing in the game, what would it be?
DH: It would be to have all of tennis work together with some trust, whether it’s the players, the tours, the Grand Slams or the ITF. There’s a lot of great collaboration I’ve seen in the last 15 months, but I think that we’ve just begun. If we can work together there are ways that we can make it better to resolve some of the issues that players have – like scheduling.
IT: What’s your response when people say that the atmosphere at Davis Cup matches with all their passionate home fans is so incredible and that it will be so hard if the Davis Cup is played on a neutral site?
DH: Any changes that we make to the Davis and Fed Cups have to embody the strengths of the competitions. The passion of the fans in the stands, that feeling is critical. I believe there are ways to get players excited to play for their countries and it can happen in a fixed venue [a neutral site]. You see it in soccer in the World Cup and in the Super Bowl. There are ways to do it. But if we are to make changes we are still going down the road of consultation. If we make any changes we have our list of things that we have to make sure we don’t devalue or get rid of.
IT: We have seen certain players not giving full effort, and in some cases just outright tanking. So questions come up. Some say that form of disruption of the game is inappropriate in the context of match-fixing. Is that a concern to the ITF?
DH: I think tennis is always concerned as a body to make sure full efforts are given. And it’s something that the ATP and WTA are looking at, as well as the ITF at the Grand Slams. The Independent Review Panels [on integrity] are taking a look at that as well. I don’t want to speak for them. I have no idea, but I would think this certainly would be be under the review that we’ve undertaken.
IT: So you think it is a concern and something to look at?
DH: It has to be something on the radar – absolutely.
IT: Are you pleased with the year in review and whats your assessment? Last year we were caught up in the issues of match fixing. Now some time’s gone by so –
DH: There have been some recent announcements of suspensions and that shows that tennis takes integrity very seriously. Sometimes it takes 18 to 24 months for an investigation to be completed. We work very closely with law enforcement, and integrity is at the top of our list.
But one player caught match-fixing is one too many, so it’s really important that we make sure this doesn’t happen. I think the independent review is just that, it’s independent. I don’t know the findings. Probably in March, we’ll see an interim report. We look forward to learning what the panel says, but that hasn’t stopped us from beginning to put in measures to improve the integrity of the game before the reports are completed.
IT: Was it disheartening that this young Aussie [Nick Lindhal], the former junior champion, got caught up in match-fixing?
DH: Well, you don’t like to see anybody involved, so again, even one player is disappointing – absolutely.
IT: Since getting elected to head the ITF, what’s been your one favorite place to experience?
DH: I just visited seven nations in Southeast Asia and finished up in New Zealand. My job is pretty simple – it’s to develop, grow and promote tennis around the world. That’s what the ITF is supposed to do. It’s great when you can focus on that, or working with the presidents or the boards of those nations to find out what support they need, how we can grow tennis in Vietnam or Laos or Cambodia. That’s why I wanted to do what I’m doing
IT: And the most misunderstood thing about the ITF?
DH: That we control everything.
IT: So you are saying that people have a sense that you are Big Brother and controlling everything?
DH: Like everything else, we are part of the ecosystem. But there are many things you know – the constitution and bylaws, the way we conduct business. It’s a positive, but it’s a process. It’s something that you have to go through – you can’t necessarily make decisions immediately because that’s just not the way we’re structured.
