2006 Stacey Allaster

STACEY ALLASTER
by Don Goodwin

A 15-year veteran of Tennis Canada and one of the most successful executives in the sport, Stacey Allaster, Vice President of Sales and Marketing and Tournament Director of the Rogers Cup went to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on January 1, 2006 in the newly-created role of President.

Stacey Allaster

Stacey Allaster


Responsible for the areas of marketing, public relations, television and tournament and player relations, Allaster will look to add to her already-proven track record in those areas, and also will play a key role in Tour sales efforts.

A significant contributor the continued growth of professional tennis during her tenure at Tennis Canada, Allaster is identified with the Rogers Cup women’s and men’s tournaments in Toronto and Montreal and their confirmation as premier global sporting events.

The only female tournament director to be part of the ATP’s prestigious Masters Series, the Welland, Ontario native also was the only woman named in 2003 and 2005 by The Globe & Mail, among the Top 25 Leaders in Canadian sport.

Under Allaster’s leadership, tournament revenues of the Rogers Cup increased by more than 300 percent from 2001-2005 and attendance in Toronto grew in excess of 50 percent, setting world records for a single-week tournament.

Allaster also negotiated more than $200 million in sponsorship agreements, including the Rogers Cup title sponsorship. In addition, she was a member of the team which achieved the 2004 opening of Toronto’s world- class, $40 million Rexall Centre.

A member of the Tour’s Tournament Council since 2001, Allaster also served as a Tournament Class alternate on the Tour’s Board of Directors since 2002. That same year, she was awarded Sports Executive of the Year honours by the Association for Canadian Women in Sport.

A successful junior and collegiate tennis player, Allaster holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Physical Education from the University of Western Ontario, as well as an MBA from the University’s Ivey School of Business.

To take up her important new role in world tennis, Stacey has relocated from Toronto to the WTA headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Her children Jack and Alexandra, both of whom were adopted from Kemerovo, Siberia, are quickly learning to enjoy the sun and the Florida lifestyle, as is her genial husband John Milkovich.