Longtime USTA CEO Gordon Smith to retire at year's end

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) Gordon Smith, longtime CEO and executive director of the U.S. Tennis Association, will retire at the end of the 2019 after 12 years on the job.

USTA chairman Patrick Galbraith said Friday that Smith ''brought our sport to new levels'' and ''represented American tennis with class and dignity around the world.''

Under Smith, the national governing body finished the five-year, $600 million transformation of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. That included two new stadiums plus a retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium.

U.S. Open gross revenue nearly doubled while Smith was there and attendance is at an all-time high.

Smith oversaw construction of the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The 100-court facility is used by pros and the public.

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