Tennis: Shakeup gives administrator double tournament duties

Richard Palmer said the restructure wasn't a pleasant experience for the Tennis Auckland staff. Photo / Martin Sykes

Tennis administrator Richard Palmer will run the Heineken Open and ASB Classic following a management restructure at Tennis Auckland.

Palmer - a director of either the men's or women's tournament for the past 14 years - emerged as the big winner from the restructure.

He takes up a new role of events manager, with responsibility for organising both showpiece international tournaments.

Former ASB Classic director Brenda Perry, who ran the event for the past two years, did not seek renewal of her part-time contract after accepting a job at Epsom Girls School.

Long-serving marketing and communications manager John McEwing was the major casualty. It is understood his responsibilities will be assumed by chief executive Greg Bramwell.

Palmer said the restructure had been stressful for Tennis Auckland staff and conceded it had not gone down well with some employees.

"It's not a pleasant experience," he said.

"There are people who you have worked with for a long time who you know are going to get chopped or who get chopped virtually instantly. There are others who only [yesterday] found out they've been offered a role."

Formerly Tennis Auckland's operations manager, Palmer has been freed of responsibilities to the domestic game and will instead devote his entire year to organising the Classic and Open.

His primary focus will be to ensure tournaments that have battled to attract top quality talent in recent years remain competitive on the international stage.

The ongoing renovation of the ASB Tennis Centre won't have made that job any easier, with Palmer facing the prospect of luring some of the sports world's most pampered athletes to compete in a half-built stadium for the 2011 events.

Redevelopment would be partially completed in time for the 2011 tournaments before final completion in 2012.

"The fact that it won't be totally complete is not something we are going to dwell on to be honest. The new court surface will be there. The changing rooms and the lounge and all the rest of it might not have the carpet and the total finishing bits to it but we'll obviously make it as comfortable as we can."