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10 ex-players turned tournament directors

  • Matt Trollope

Becoming a tournament director is an increasingly viable option for players looking to explore a post-playing tennis career that keeps them involved with the sport.

And not just any players – some extremely recognisable retired pros, who scaled the heights of the sport, are currently at the helm of significant tournaments on the calendar.

Here are 10 former tennis stars working as tournament directors – beginning with one busy in her role right now.

1. Li Na – Hong Kong

Chinese trailblazer Li Na was in September announced as the new tournament director of the WTA 250 event in Hong Kong.

It’s unfolding this week on the hard courts of the Victoria Park Tennis Centre, where Diana Shnaider is the No.1 seed.

“I am looking forward to witnessing the competition amongst these world-class female players,” said Li, a former world No.2 and two-time Grand Slam champion, including at AO 2014.

"I also hope to add my own experience to help participating players push their own personal limits.”

2. Garbine Muguruza – WTA Finals

Three months earlier, Muguruza was announced as the new tournament director of the WTA Finals, the tour’s prestigious season-ending event for which only eight top players qualify.

It’s a new figurehead for an event moving to a new home, in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

“I can bring the player’s perspective to the event. This is something the WTA didn’t have before in this tournament,” Muguruza told wtatennis.com.

“Knowing what the players might need, might feel, being there for them, talking to them and making sure they have everything they need – that’s my job.

“[Also] making sure they feel comfortable in our new home. It’s a country that tennis hasn’t reached yet, so it’s going to be historic to have a WTA Finals in the Kingdom.”

Muguruza, a former world No.1 who announced her retirement earlier this season, won the WTA Finals in 2021 when it was staged in Guadalajara. She is also a former Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion.

3. Conchita Martinez – Billie Jean King Cup Finals

Next month, Muguruza’s former coach Martinez will step up again in her role as tournament director at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

The former world No.2, who won Wimbledon in 1994, was announced last year for the position at an event where 12 nations competed for ultimate glory in her home country of Spain.

The finals return to Spain in 2024, where the top 12 nations converge on Malaga from 13-20 November.

Martinez was a part of five winning Spanish teams in the competition, back when it was known as the Fed Cup.

4. David Ferrer – Barcelona

Another Spaniard, David Ferrer, was in 2019 announced as the Barcelona Open tournament director.

The ATP 500 event is a significant stop during the European clay-court swing as players build up to Roland Garros.

“I’d say that the change from player to director, on a personal level, is very gratifying,” the former world No.3 told atptour.com. “You learn to see how a tournament is run and the huge amount of work behind it.”

Ferrer reached four Barcelona finals from 2008 to 2012, where he was stopped by 12-time champion Rafael Nadal each time.

Ferrer in 2022 was also named as tournament director of the Davis Cup Finals, and currently serves as Spain’s Davis Cup captain.

5. Feliciano Lopez – Madrid

Since 2019, former world No.12 Feliciano Lopez has worked in the role of tournament director of the Madrid Open, a joint 1000-level event on the ATP and WTA Tours.

Madrid is one of three ATP Masters 1000 events in the run-up to Roland Garros.

“At the time when I decided to accept the challenge of being director, I was aware that I would never play this tournament again, because you cannot be the director of the tournament and play in it,” said Lopez, who competed on tour until 2023.

Tournament director Feliciano Lopez (front) watches the 2024 Madrid Open women's final between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka with former WTA players Daniela Hantuchova (top right) and Garbine Muguruza (centre). [Getty Images]

“It’s true that every year I get the urge to play, but I can handle it, there’s just a longing to play here. But I’ll also feel that in 10 years, because it never leaves you.”

6. Amelie Mauresmo – Roland Garros

In 2021, former world No.1 Mauresmo created history as the first woman to be appointed tournament director at Roland Garros.

She never won in Paris – her best results were quarterfinals in 2003 and 2004 – but as a Grand Slam champion at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, the Frenchwoman is uniquely placed in her role.

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“My career here featured many ups and downs,” she told rolandgarros.com at the time of the announcement.

“And, after my career, I saw a different side to the event. I have coached various players, been a television pundit, a spectator and a television viewer, too.

“I don’t know if anyone has seen the tournament from more angles than I have. This gives me a certain responsibility and a fierce ambition to push Roland Garros even further.”

7. Tommy Haas – Indian Wells

Haas is one of the more experienced tournament directors on this list, having held the mantle at Indian Wells since 2016.

The former world No.2 played on until 2017 but his last appearance as a player in the Californian desert was in 2014, where he fell in the last 16 to good friend Roger Federer.

Haas’ best Grand Slam results came in Australia; he was a three-time AO semifinalist, in 1999, 2002 and 2007.

8. James Blake – Miami

After Indian Wells, Blake helms the second tournament of the ‘Sunshine Double’, the Miami Open.

Blake, who peaked at world No.4 in 2006 before reaching the AO 2008 quarterfinals, debuted as tournament director in 2018.

In 2019, he oversaw the tournament’s relocation from Crandon Park at Key Biscayne to Hard Rock Stadium.

In 2018, tournament director James Blake (right) and eight-time champion Serena Williams (second from left) took part in a "ground-breaking ceremony" at the future home of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium, where it moved in 2019. [Getty Images]

Earlier this year he appeared on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, recounting some of his highlights and funniest stories in the role.

9. Alicia Molik – Adelaide

Australian icon Alicia Molik stepped down as the nation’s long-serving Billie Jean King Cup captain in 2023, moving into a role as tournament director at the Adelaide International.

The 2024 event marked her first year in her new position, something which gave her a nostalgic feel.

“I’ve trained pretty much my whole life in The Drive – when I was a young kid I used to train there every single day so it’s great to be back there as well so often,” the former world No.8 told InDaily.

10. Anke Huber – Stuttgart

Huber, a German star of the 1990s, has served as Operating Tournament Director of the WTA Stuttgart event since 2002.

The popular event, known as the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, has long been voted by players as one of the best stops on the women’s circuit.

“We don’t have to convince the players that have already been here about the quality of our tournament,” said Huber, an Australian Open 1996 finalist who twice won the Stuttgart title.

“For them it’s like coming back home. They simply have a feel-good feeling here, something they say to us over and over again. For us, it’s naturally the nicest compliment going.”