Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis at the USTA, today announced that Jim Curley has been named to the position of US Open Tournament Director. Curley, 42, is known throughout the industry as one of the most accomplished tennis event managers, and will join the USTA from IMG where he has spent almost 18 years working for the world’s largest sports representation and event marketing firm. He will begin his position effective August 1, 2001.
‘Jim’s unique background and reputation throughout the tennis industry will be a tremendous asset to the US Open,’ said Kantarian. ‘The Open is the most highly attended annual sports event in the world and an incredibly complex operation. Jim’s expertise will help to take the event to the next level.’
Curley’s duties as US Open Tournament Director will include all aspects of tournament operations, player relations and services, tournament scheduling and event management. Additionally, he will work closely with Kantarian on new professional tennis initiatives in an effort to further promote the sport in the United States.
‘The US Open continues to be the measuring stick by which most other sporting events are measured,’ Curley said. ‘I am proud to be able to join the USTA’s Professional Tennis management team to help make this great event even greater.’
The California native has been with IMG since 1983, and served as the Tournament Director for the ATP Franklin Templeton Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona and the WTA Tour estyle.com Classic in Los Angeles, as well as overseeing the WTA Tour Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.
In addition, he helped to manage IMG’s tennis activities outside of North America and Europe, with a specific focus on Australia (where he lived for more than three years), Asia and the Middle East. Curley served on the WTA Tour Board of Directors and was a consultant to the ATP Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles. His previous client management relationships have included over a dozen professional tennis players including Pat Cash, Pam Shriver and Andre Agassi. He has also organized tennis and golf events in sites from India to Argentina.
Jim is a graduate of Harvard with an A.B. Degree in Economics and played on the Harvard Varsity Tennis Team. Jim and his wife Roxanne have two children, Scott 13 and Georgia 10, and will be relocating to the New York area.
The United States Tennis Association owns and stages the US Open and selects the teams that compete in Davis Cup, Fed Cup and the Olympic Games. The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in America and is a non-profit organization with more than 600,000 members. It invests all of its resources to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass roots to the professional levels.
For further information, contact:
USTA Press Office
Tel: +1 914 696 7000
Fax: +1 914 696 7169