Tennis Pro Tommy Haas Named BNP Paribas Open Tournament Director

INDIAN WELLS, CA - The BNP Paribas Open named former tennis pro Tommy Haas as the tournament's director Friday, replacing longtime director Raymond Moore who stepped down in March following controversial remarks regarding the sport's female athletes.

Haas, who at one time was ranked No.2 worldwide, said he was "thrilled to join the BNP Paribas Open as its new Tournament Director and look forward to working with one of the finest sporting events in the world. There is a reason that the BNP Paribas Open has been voted Tournament of the Year by both tours for consecutive years, as the tournament and venue continue to provide a world- class experience for players, fans and sponsors. I look forward to joining the experienced Indian Wells staff, building upon the foundation they have created, and working to take the event to even greater heights."

Haas' appointment is pending approval by the Women's Tennis Association and Association of Tennis Professionals, whose two tours make up the BNP Paribas Open.

Tournament organizers were forced to seek a new director after then-BNP Paribas Open tournament director and CEO Raymond Moore stepped down during this year's tournament.

During the tournament, Moore told reporters at a media breakfast that female tennis players should thank male players for the success of their sport.

"If I were a lady tennis player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have," Moore said.

Moore issued an apology and stepped down the following day.

"Ray let me know that he has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and tournament director effective immediately. I fully understand his decision," said BNP Paribas Open owner Larry Ellison at the time. "Nearly half a century ago, Billie Jean King began her historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis. What followed is an ongoing, multi-generational, progressive movement to treat women and men in sports equally. Thanks to the leadership of Billie Jean, Martina Navratilova, Venus Williams, Serena Williams and so many other great women athletes, an important measure of success has already been achieved. I'm proud to say that it is now a decade long tradition at our tournament at Indian Wells, and all the major tennis tournaments, to pay equal prize money to both the women and the men. I would like to personally thank all the great women athletes who fought so hard for so many years in the pursuit of equal prize money in professional tennis. And I'd like to congratulate them on their success. All of us here at the BNP Paribas Open promise to continue working with everyone to make tennis a better sport for everybody."

In Moore's apology, he characterized his comments as "in extremely poor taste and erroneous. I am truly sorry for those remarks, and apologize to all the players and WTA as a whole," he said.

Though Moore is not directly involved with the tournament anymore, he has continued performing his position as chief executive of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, overseeing major upgrades to be made to the site which hosts the tournament each year.

– By City News Service.