Patrick McEnroe To Resign As Head of USTA Player Development
Patrick McEnroe announced Wednesday that he will resign as the USTA’s general manager of player development. McEnroe, who has held the position for six and a half years, announced his decision at a US Open press conference after the New York Times initially broke the story on Wednesday.
“I will be stepping down from my position,” said McEnroe, who is a former U.S. Davis Cup captain and current ESPN analyst. “It made all the sense in the world that the person in this position be full-time based in Orlando. I think we both looked at each other and realized that that probably wasn’t going to be me for a variety of reasons, both professional and personal.”
The USTA announced plans in May for a new $60 million tennis center in Orlando to develop and train young American players. McEnroe said that he would not be moving down there full-time, and that this position should require someone being based there on a full-time basis.
“The job really encompasses I believe the whole country, but I believe that moving forward, not just for player development but for community tennis as well, that it’s going to be moving down to Orlando,” added McEnroe. “I just think it’s even more important.”
His resignation comes on the heels of a US Open in which no American men reached the round of 16. It is the second year in a row that no Americans reached that stage, something that before 2013 hadn’t happened since 1881.
The last American man to win a Grand Slam was Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
Despite the recent struggles, USTA executive director and COO Gordon Smith said that recent results are not the cause of this decision, and that he is confident in the foundation left by McEnroe.
“If you look at where we are and where we have come from I think, like I said, we have a great foundation,” said Smith. “Frankly, I think we are going to see results of that.”
Smith went on to stress that this is not a complete changeover, and they will continue to go down the course that McEnroe started. The 48-year old Manhasset native will be part of the transition process to a new head of player development.
“Patrick will be involved in helping us find who that person will be and helping us with that transition as we continue forward,” said Smith.
In the meantime, the younger McEnroe brother will be covering the US Open for ESPN. He will actually play today with his brother, John, against Mats Wilander and Henri Laconte in the Men’s Championship Doubles on Court 17.
