The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has kept its recruitment in-house by promoting former player Eric Butorac to tournament director of its flagship US Open Grand Slam.
Butorac steps into the role having served as the USTA’s senior director of player relations and business development, as well as the tournament director for this year’s controversial star-studded US Open mixed doubles competition.
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He will now run the whole tournament, which has grown from a two-week competition to a three-week ‘festival of tennis’ that includes the new-look mixed doubles competition.
He replaces Stacy Allaster, the US Open’s tournament director and the USTA’s chief of professional tennis, who is stepping away from the organization to focus on philanthropy projects in tennis and other areas.
She will remain as the USTA’s chief of professional tennis until May 2026 before moving to an advisory role within the organization.
Butorac will report to Allaster in his capacity as tournament director and USTA chief commercial officer Kristen Corio in his role as managing director of tennis business development.
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By GlobalDataAllaster said: “[It has] been a privilege to work alongside Eric and witness his remarkable journey from the court as a professional player to a leader in the boardroom.
“I’ve seen and felt firsthand his dedication to the sport, his commitment to his own professional growth, and his evolution into a respected industry leader and trusted teammate. Eric brings humility, heart, and a mindset balanced on the needs of our players and fans, and this makes him uniquely qualified to lead the US Open into its next chapter of growth.”
Butorac joined the USTA in 2016 after a 14-year career on the ATP Tour, where he won 18 ATP doubles titles and reached the doubles finals at the 2014 Australian Open. He also served eight years on the ATP Player Council and succeeded Roger Federer as its president in 2014.
Butorac and Allaster worked to revamp the mixed doubles competition for the 2025 edition, making it a two-day standalone event ahead of the main singles draw and increasing the prize purse to $1 million to lure top players to participate.
The championship featured several high-profile pairings, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, Jannik Sinner with Emma Navarro, Iga Swiatek with Casper Rudd, and Novak Djokovic with Olga Danilovic.
Ahead of the tournament, the USTA announced the largest prize purse in tennis history, with a total sum of $90 million distributed to players, including a record $5 million to the men’s and women’s singles champions.
The increased pot represented a 20% increase on last year’s purse, which stood at $75 million and comes in the wake of players’ lobbying the four major Grand Slams -the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open – for a greater share of their growing revenues.
Butorac himself has said: “I am beyond excited and grateful to serve as US Open Tournament Director. This is, in many ways, a dream come true and the culmination of my life and career in tennis.
“I owe a tremendous gratitude to Stacey [Allaster], from whom I learned more than I ever could have imagined after transitioning from a career playing on tour. Now, I cannot wait to help drive the continued growth and success of the US Open well into the future.”
