Mr. Tennis taking another bold step, back to the U.S.

May 16—As an adult, Craig Tiley aced the first two serves of his tennis life. Hit ‘em 164 mph into the back corner: Thwomp, whiff. His overmatched opponents didn’t even see the ball.

The first act of Tiley’s journey started in 1992 in Champaign-Urbana. Hired by then-athletic director Ron Guenther to lead instruction at Atkins Tennis Center, Tiley soon found himself running the Illinois men’s tennis program, first as interim coach in 1993 and permanently after that season.

There were some early bumps and bruises. Followed by unprecedented success.

From 1993 to 2005, his Illinois teams went a ridiculous 274-77, topped by winning the 2003 NCAA title with a perfect 32-0 season. The program had a 64-match winning streak that ended in a 4-2 loss to UCLA in the 2004 NCAA semifinals. Illinois was good enough to repeat, but fell just short.

A year later, Tiley began Act 2 … in faraway Australia.

Hired initially in 2005 as Australia’s director of player development, Tiley soon was handed the keys to the Australian Open. He was in charge of the Grand Slam event for 21 years, adding the CEO title in 2013.

Under Tiley’s leadership, it skyrocketed financially and prestige-wise, turning into a must-see/play event.

Welcome back

Craig and wife Alicia, a Chicago-area native, have three kids: daughter Marlowe (13) and twin sons Archer and Weston (12). Marlowe is an avid basketball player, while Archer and Weston play tennis as their main sport.

The Tiley kids have spent their lives in the land Down Under.

“They’re Aussies,” Tiley said.

But that is about to change.

Tiley left Tennis Australia in February and is becoming the CEO of the U.S. Tennis Association later this year.

“It’s a big job, but I’m really looking forward to it,” Tiley said.

The Tileys will relocate to their new home in Florida.

“Everyone’s going to be talking to them about kangaroos,” Tiley said.

The kids are excited about coming to America.

“It’s tough for them to leave their friends,” Tiley said. “I’m preparing them to become future Illini.”

A big fan

Rajeev Ram, one of the stars of Illinois’ 2003 NCAA title teams, is all for Tiley’s move.

“He’s done an unbelievable job of making every place he leads up better,” Ram said. “You know the story with Illinois tennis and then Tennis Australia. He’s taken it to a new level and now he’s coming to the USTA. With his track record and ability to get things done, I can’t imagine it will be anything but incredibly positive for American tennis.

“I think it’s a great hire by the USTA.”

The 42-year-old Ram has kept in touch with Tiley over the years, on and off the court. They see other four or five times a year at different tournaments.

In 2019, Ram won his first of three Australian Open doubles titles: one in men’s and two in mixed.

“It was pretty amazing to have the trophy handed to me by my college coach. It was kind of surreal,” Ram said.

Ram is hoping for one final trophy handoff from Tiley. He hasn’t made it official, but it is possible this year’s U.S. Open will be his last event.

“Now at this year’s U.S. Open, (Tiley) is going to be at the helm of it if that happens to be my last, almost signing off with him being the man in charge, which will be kind of weird and kind of full circle,” Ram said.

Ram is going to Europe later in the month, then one warmup tournament before the French Open.

“I’ve been lucky to play for a long time,” Ram said.

Ram and wife Zainab split their time between their home in California and Indianapolis, where he is from. Zainab is from southern Illinois and is a UI alum.

Family time

With the new job coming soon, 63-year-old Tiley decided to go on a vacation. A long vacation.

“I’ve never taken a break from work,” Tiley said.

The family visited Alicia’s family in the Chicago area, went to Orlando, Fla., to organize ahead of their move, visited his family in South Africa, went on a weeklong safari and spent time with friends in Western Australia.

Then, back to work … in a new/old country.