WS Chronicle

Jeffrey “Jeff” Ryan will become tournament director of the Winston-Salem Open effective April 1. Ryan has been involved with several major past tennis events in Winston-Salem, including organizing the 2001, 2007 and 2008 Davis Cups. Ryan will continue in his current role as senior director of team events at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for half his time and will devote the remainder to the Winston-Salem Open.

 “Jeff has a reputation for consistently organizing world-class tennis events and has tremendous experience with player relations, sponsorships, ticket sales, marketing, hospitality and venue operations,” said Don Flow, chair of Winston-Salem Professional Tennis, the governing body of the Winston-Salem Open. “His ability to maintain a dual role with the USTA was a perfect complement to our need to have a tournament director here in Winston-Salem for only part of the year. His USTA event work is largely during winter months, which pairs well to make Jeff available for our summer tournament work.

“We’re thrilled with the vast expertise that Jeff brings to the table and look forward to seeing him elevate the Winston-Salem Open to its next level,” Flow added. “Ryan is joining a strong team of professionals at the Winston-Salem Open, including our Chief Operating Officer Amy Knudson, with whom he worked for years at the USTA.”

“We at the USTA are so pleased with this unique opportunity for us to collaborate with the Winston-Salem Open and allow Jeff to use his strengths for both organizations,” said Stacey Allaster, chief executive, Professional Tennis for the USTA. “Jeff does a fantastic job with our team events and we know he’ll do the same in Winston-Salem. I’m so glad the calendar allows him to lead both our USTA team events and serve as the tournament director of the Winston-Salem Open.”

Ryan was instrumental in bringing the tournament to Winston-Salem in 2011 that became the Winston-Salem Open and has provided support to the tournament every year since through his USTA role. He has been with the USTA since 1997 and handles business operations oversight. All told, Ryan has more than 34 years of experience in procuring host cities and venues for professional tennis events.

His achievements include serving as the team leader for U.S. Olympic Tennis for five Olympic tennis events, and he is widely recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee as an authority on Olympic-level tennis. In addition, Ryan staged the highest-grossing U.S. Davis Cup Tie event on record, which sold out with $3.5 million in ticket sales and sponsorships.

“I’ve enjoyed a long history of supporting successful tennis events in Winston-Salem and I am truly honored with my new role at the Winston-Salem Open. I’m particularly excited about the opportunity to leverage my relationships to recruit top American players to Winston-Salem,” Ryan said. “My plan is to commute between my existing home in Orlando and Winston-Salem for a while and move to Winston-Salem eventually.”

Earlier in his career, Ryan served as director of operations for the International Management Group (IMG), a leading international sports, entertainment and media company based in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a BA degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1986.

The Winston-Salem Open, an ATP World Tour 250 event with a total purse of more than $743,085, will take place from August 22 through 29, 2020, with qualifying set for August 22. For more information, visit WinstonSalemOpen.com.