Steve Simon (tennis)

Steve Simon
Country (sports) United States
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon1R (1981)

Steve Simon is an American tennis executive and former player who is the chairman and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

He was born in California, and played college tennis for Long Beach State University. He qualified for the Mixed Doubles event at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships alongside Lea Antonoplis, where they lost in the first round.[1]

Simon was the tournament director of the Indian Wells Open from 2004 to 2015, when he left to become the chief executive of the Women's Tennis Association.[1][2]

In 2021, following the disappearance of Peng Shuai, Simon suspended all WTA tournaments in China, including the tour's long-term deal to hold the WTA Finals there.[3] In December 2023, after the 2023 WTA Finals in Cancún where multiple players criticized the poor court conditions, the WTA announced that Simon would resign as CEO and become chairman.[3] He was succeeded as CEO by Portia Archer.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Who is the tennis boss taking on China?". BBC Sport. December 2, 2021.
  2. ^ "Steve Simon appointed as Chief Executive of WTA". www.insidethegames.biz. October 6, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Futterman, Matthew (December 12, 2023). "Steve Simon's biggest moment atop women's tennis ultimately led to his demise". The Athletic. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  4. ^ Maine, D'Arcy (June 5, 2024). "WTA appoints G League's Portia Archer as new CEO". ESPN. Retrieved June 5, 2024.