USTA CEO Michael Dowse to Step Down in March

The USTA will look for a new leader during this holiday season.

Michael Dowse, who led the United States Tennis Association through two years of the COVID pandemic, will step down from his CEO post effective March 2, 2022, the USTA announced today.

Dowse was named USTA CEO and Executive Director in October 2019 after heading the Wilson Sporting Goods Co.

Throughout his tenure, Dowse led the USTA through a couple of its most challening years in Open Era history. As CEO, Dowse oversaw a major restructuring that saw the USTA downsize staff, the implementation of a new strategic plan that the Tennis Association says “has strengthened its financial outlook” and a resurgence of recreational player participation throughout the nation.

“The USTA is now in a strong position for the future,” Dowse said in a statement, “And I am confident I will be leaving it in good hands and well-positioned for success.

“I want to thank our Board, the USTA staff, our many volunteers, and the wide community of people who love and play tennis, for making possible the success we have had. Working together, we demonstrated that tennis is the model sport, not only for safe and fun recreation during a pandemic but also for a lifetime.”

Dowse noted the success the game has experienced “at the highest level of the sport—the US Open—as well as at every park and school where record numbers of Americans are now participating, with over four million new players just in the last two years.”

Dowse will remain as CEO until March 1, 2022, and will assist with the transition. During that time, the USTA says its Board will conduct a search for a new CEO and finalize succession plans.