♪ >> Hello everyone and welcome to Canada Files .

I'm Jim Deeks.

Our guest this week is one of the most prominent and influential people in the world of international sport.

But you may not recognize her name or face.

She is Stacey Allaster, currently the CEO of professional tennis at the United States Tennis Association.

And the Tournament Director of the US Open.

Prior to this, Stacey was Chair and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association.

Way back, the Executive Director of the Canadian Open.

Which would strongly suggest, yes she is Canadian.

We sat down with Stacey recently at the USTA in Orlando, Florida.

>> Jim, Welcome to beautiful Lake Nona, Florida in February where the sun is shining and we are at the beautiful USTA national campus.

>> It's too bad we're not outside.

But this is an amazing facility!

This building and throughout the campus.

>> This really is the best training centre and the largest tennis centre in the world.

>>It's great to be here.

I want to start by asking.... you grew up in Welland, Ontario.

>> The metropolis!

>> Just beside Niagara Falls.

There are very few men or women who were born and raised in Canada who grew up to become major executives in an international sport like tennis.

It's a classic story in your case-- starting at the bottom and working your way up.

Tell us how you got into tennis as a kid.

>> I was one of those lucky kids in the eighth grade.

It was an Ontario Tennis Association program, like a state association program.

They wanted to get more boys and girls playing tennis.

They went to the elementary schools and chose one boy and girl from each school.

I got a racket, six weeks of lessons and a membership at the community tennis club, the Welland Tennis Club.

That's how it all began.

>> You worked your way up from there, sweeping courts.

>> I did every job in tennis.

Cleaning and watering the red clay courts.

I started teaching, then became the director of the club.

Sponsorship and getting people to come and play.

I did the janitorial work.

One of the best was taking a 50-lb lawn mower in the indoor club.

That's how we cleaned the fuzz off the courts.

The thing almost weighed as much as I did, at the time.

>> In those years, mid 70s, just about every young girl in Canada probably wanted to grow up to be the next Dorothy Hamill or Peggy Fleming.

Did you want to grow up to be the next Billie Jean King?

>>I got the great opportunity to watch Chrissy and Martina.

At that time, Billie wasn't on the scene.

I had a wannabe backhand like Chris Everett.

Then I was in love with Monica Seles and Steffi Graf.

Those were the players I followed and fell in love with.

As this 5 ft 1.5 inch physical specimen, on a good hair day, I knew the pro world was never going to be for me.

>> You ended up in the admin side of tennis.

First in Ontario, then you became vice president of Tennis Canada.

And tournament director of the Toronto side of Canadian Open.

There was Toronto and Montreal.

You were the first woman to hold that job.

As egalitarian as tennis seems to be, did and do you feel the sting of discrimination from men?

>> There's no doubt we are the sport of equality.

But we have a long way to go, particularly on gender and race.

It is still rare in 2022 that I would sit in an international meeting.

I'm generally the only woman and it's 2022.

I don't feel the discrimination any more.

I made it!

I certainly did in the early years.

I've felt gender bias throughout my 40 years of working in tennis.

I've had great roles models, like Billie Jean King.

And others, my mother, grandmother.

It's taught me to keep advocating for equality and creating opportunities for the next generation.

Because so many created the opportunities for me.

>> After a great career at Tennis Canada, in 2006 you landed the dream job that you never thought you would get.

>> Every job has been the dream.

>> I still pinch myself today!

>> It's been a nice progression.

Back then, you got asked to move to St. Petersburg, Florida to become the president of the Women's Tennis Association.

It was founded more than 30 years earlier by Billie Jean and a number of other professional tennis women.

What was your mandate at the WTA and what achievements did you make in the years you were there?

>> It was going around the world, talking to tournament members and players around how we were going to evolve the sport.

So we could grow it.

That was one of the primary responsibilities early on.

The other was equal prize money at Wimbledon and Roland Garros.

We were on the 1-yard line, 93% there.

There were many administrators before me and Larry.

Many athletes, particularly Billie, Chrissy, and Martina who had built and advocated for decades for equality at those final two slams.

That was in my portfolio, working with a great team.

In 2007, we finally achieved what so many had worked for.

In particular, our modern-day Billie Jean King , Venus Williams was the player advocate at that time, that helped us get it over the line.

>> You went on to become Chair and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association.

Which is the women's tennis tour, the body that takes women players around the world.

After 9 years at the WTA, you left.

Why?

>> I had been travelling the world, approx.

150 days a year.

The WTA is 55 events in 33 countries.

One of my priorities during my tenure as CEO was the development of the sport in Asia-Pacific.

Culturally, they want to see the person leading the organization, Two young kids.

My husband, John, is the CEO of the Milkovich household.

A modern-day partner in life.

He stepped back from his career.

We were fortunate that he could stay home.

I missed the kids and the family.

But I never had to worry about them.

But after 10 years and grind of doing that-- that stage of my life, and 15 years at Tennis Canada and 3 years at the OTA, I burnt out.

I was one of those classic female professionals... a working mom who put myself last.

It was a mistake.

You could look back on it now.

Your job as a leader is to manage your energy... and I didn't.

>> Your hiatus from... >> Didn't last long.

>> Six months later, Stacey Allaster joins the US Tennis Association as head of the professional division.

You must have been thrilled and scared at the same time of the responsibility you were taking on.

We'll talk about the US Open in a minute.

As head of pro tennis, what are your duties today?

What significant changes or improvements have you been able to make since you started 6 years ago?

>> I'm in the pro operations, the events side.

We own a tournament in Cincinnati called the Western & Southern Ope n. Very similar to the National Bank Open in Canada.

A Masters 1000 on the men's and women's.

That's in my portfolio.

We have the entry-level of professional tennis.

The team that runs 120 entry-level professional events which are the foundations for pros and young players to aspire up to the ATP and WTA.

All of the international team competitions-- Olympics Games, Billy Jean King Cup, Davis Cup, the Pan-Am Games, wheelchair tennis, falls in my portfolio on the pro side.

I have officiating--there are 2,500 officials in the US.

They are some of the most unsung heroes of our sport.

Incredibly dedicated...we have 10,000 events in the country!

Then I have this little event in New York.

çLaughsÑ >> About three years ago, in addition to the duties that you've just described, you became the tournament director of the US Open, at Flushing Meadow in New York.

Anyone would think that is a full-time job in itself.

How do you manage both?

>> I have a phenomenal team.

I mean that with all my heart and sincerity.

I've attracted great talent.

All of those portfolios I've described, the leadership of that group make me look great every day.

It's ironic but 2020 was my first.

For context, the US Open is the largest annual sporting event in the world.

It was during the global pandemic and the first international event in the world to be staged in New York City where the pandemic had raged and taken so many lives before that.

I'm an expert in crisis management.

>> How big a challenge was that?

Your first tournament as tournament director.

You're dealing with a pandemic that nobody had dealt with before!

>> It was, without question, the most difficult work experience I had in my career.

Personally, it was the first.

Two...three things were said to me.

No way we could stage the event without fans.

Inside the house, it's crazy.

Not happening.

Players and management didn't want it.

Convincing stakeholders that we could do it.

We were lucky.

Other sports paved the way.

Two, both tours did not want us to stage the US Open in 2020.

We had the head winds of the tours-- predominantly the players.

Some were scared.

Some wanted the sport to start in Europe.

Where things weren't as bad.

WTA was worried but supported us when we made the decision.

We don't want anyone to die.

I took that very seriously.

Our staff were concerned.

It was a big undertaking of an unknown .

We didn't know how to live with the pandemic.

Lastly, someone senior said to me, "We're counting on you, Stace, to stage the US Open."

Because of the financial impact it would have had, and still had, on our organization.

>> You pulled it off.

>> We pulled it off.

>> And again in 2021.

>> I'm one member of a phenomenal team of the greatest sport event management company in the world.

I can say that with credibility because of my years of being in the sport around the world and in the industry.

>> Talking about organizations in tennis, a lot of tennis fans may not be aware that men and women play the majors-- the Grand Slam events, the US, French, Australian Opens, Wimbledon in tandem, the rest of the year... most tournaments are played separately... two separate tours.

The women and the men's associations of tennis pros.

They've been separate for over 50 years.

There is talk now.

Roger Federer raised it two months ago.

Is it now time to merge these two tours?

What's your view of that initiative and how would it affect the US TA and US Open?

>> It's always the right time.

Billie always wanted the men and women to be together.

In 1973, that was not the way the guys wanted it.

I can say today that both tours are co- operating.

The largest events on the ATP and WTA tour are combined.

The National Bank Open of Canada is combined in the same week.

Just different cities, a unique business model.

But the Western Southern Open is held together.

Upcoming, the BNP Parabis in Indian Wells, then Miami Open.

So the largest events on both tours are men & women combined.

But they operate with two different organizations.

They are working together more closely together on marketing and operations.

Some areas of product-- the commercial is the big hurdle, and governance.

The conversations are it's not an easy thing to pull together.

But there's a good intent to work more collaboratively.

>> In the world of professional golf, we're now in a state of flux.

The European tour, which has been around for decades, has received a major infusion of money from the Saudi Arabians.

A new Asian tour, headed by Greg Norman, has also received a lot of Saudi money.

This is great for the professional golfers because it's offering them way more prize money than they've played for, just on the PGA Tour.

These two initiatives are creating quite a threat to the power and status of the PGA Tour.

Do you see anything similar?

Maybe the merger of these two other tours?

Even a influx of new sponsorship money from somewhere else happening in tennis and being a threat to the US TA.

>> We can never take our eye off those who would like to come into our club.

You can never sit complacent with your business.

Everyone knows that.

We've got to keep progressing.

Whether elevating our product, working more collaboratively.

Those seven different governing bodies for one sport.

That can help to make us stronger.

More sponsorships, revenue for the athletes.

We've had disrupters come into the game in those 50 years We will continue.

Competition helps to foster increased success.

>> Let's talk about tennis as it currently sits.

What's your view of the current status?

There are lots of great young players coming along.

Many graduating from this campus where we are.

The era of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray seems to be on the way out, notwithstanding that Rafael Nadal just won the Australian Open.

On the women's side, the domination of Serena Williams appears to be subsiding.

I don't want to count anyone out.

Egalitarianism in sports is nice but don't the fans like to see dominant players?

Won't the lack of singular stars hurt the game for awhile?

>> We have been preparing as a sport for the transition of Roger, Rafa, Serena, Venus and Andy for years!

I started talking about Venus' retirement in 2013!

And here we are in 2022.

We have been so fortunate.

This golden era .

Especially on the men's side.

We are watching the greatest of all time with Serena and Venus Williams.

The US Open in 2021 was Exhibit A of how our sport is going to move forward, ultimately.

On that Monday of Main Draw, the whole conversation was no Rafa, Fed or Serena.

By Tuesday, the athletes did what they do.

They are amazing .

You do a qualifier.

Emma Raducanu, the first ever of a grand slam.

She never would have had that exposure.

Leylah Fernandez, all of a sudden.

Anybody on any given day can win!

Sometimes they don't get the spotlight.

On the women's side, we saw two young champions take down the No.

1 player in the world, and Olympic champ.

It was phenomenal!

On the men's side, unbelievable quality of tennis.

They all rise up.

>> As a Canadian, you must be impartial but secretly thrilled to see the rise of so many Canadian professional tennis players in the last 3 - 4 years.

I'm talking about Leila Fernandez you mentionned.

Bianca Andreescu who won the US Open in 2019.

Dennis Shapovalov, Felix Auger Aliassime.

Milos Raonic who was an up-and-comer 3 -4 years ago but then suffered injuries.

Suddenly we Canadians are a tennis powerhouse.

Who would have thought!

>> It was the dream when I was at Tennis Canada.

That we would have one player in the Top 10.

One!

I remember watching Wimbledon one year.

We had Milos and Eugenie Bouchard in semis and finals.

It was crazy!

When I sat there in 2019, watching ' the goat' , Serena going for 24 and Bianca Andreescu beat Serena with 24,000 screaming New Yorkers in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, that was a surreal moment.

Never in my wildest dreams, would I have thought that.

Then in 2021, we had two Canadians.

Emma is Canadian-born and another Canadian on the stage for the final...crazy.

>> On the male side, we just saw Rafael Nadal become the winning-est Grand Slam pro with 21 in Melbourne, Australia.

Federer and Djokovic is at 20. Who is the best male tennis player of all time?

It may not be any of those.

>> It hasn't been determined yet.

There's no way any of us thought that Rafael Nadal would win the Australian Open.

He was on crutches 1.5 months ago.

He had COVID at the start of the year.

He was down 2 sets.

Medvedev was playing unbelievable.

It remains to be seen... >> Novak's got time on his side.

>> He does.

He will surpass Roger and Rafa.

That will probably answer that question.

All three of them, with different dimensions.

That's what is so great about tennis.

You have Roger, with his style of play That battle between Roger and Rafa has been so fun to watch.

Like Agassi and Sampras.

Then you had Novak come in and challenge those guys.

We've been so lucky to watch them for so long.

Phenomenal!

>> Most fans would say tennis is a serious sport.

There's not a lot of good humour that goes on in matches.

(Laughing) They're playing at an intense level.

Cut them some slack.

In all your years of tennis, what's the funniest incident that you've seen?

>> There's probably one that's never been on the air.

In 2005 in Toronto, the first year we opened the new stadium at York University for a women's event.

We got one of those classic thunderstorms.

Too much rain came and the photo pits filled up.

The photo pits are 4 feet deep.

>> Where the photographers are.

>> Kim Clijsters is swimming in the photo pits with the ball crew.

They were doing laps!

A true story.

>> A good one.

>> Not sure we have video but we do have good photos.

>> Someone has said in the past, that you being Canadian has helped you along the way.

Even after you left Canada.

What did you mean by that?

>> I'm working in a global sport in a global world.

Growing up in Canada, I learned to live in an Anglophone and Francophone bilingual country.

A country much more diverse and tolerant.

Just culturally aware.

That really helped me when I was at the WTA in the president and CEO role.

With 55 tournaments in 33 countries.

Being adaptive and cognizant of how I needed to adapt my business style and communications.

Understanding and respecting those traditions.

Made me culturally aware.

Sometimes we think of Canadians as peace-keepers.

People who can bridge.

I brought that to the sport.

Maybe being a woman has helped as well.

Predominantly strong men... most of them former players.

I think it's that combination that's been my secret competitive advantage.

>> You've had a great career.

Good luck in the years going forward.

Thanks so much for joining us on Canada Files .

>> Thanks, Jim, and for coming down to beautiful sunny Florida.

>> Thank you for watching.

We'll see you next time with more Canada Files .

♪