Raymond Moore knows better than most people what it takes to run the prestigious Indian Wells tournament after once being in charge of the event until his resignation in 2016.
The 73-year-old has spent his life dedicated to the sport. As a player he managed to break into the world’s top 40 during the 1970s and reached two grand slam quarter-finals. Doing so at the 1968 Wimbledon Championships and 1977 US Open. Although it wasn’t a easy ride for the South African who played during the apartheid era where the black population was treated inferior compared to the white in his home country. In an extensive interview with Ubitennis founder Ubaldo Scanagatta, Moore opens up about what it was like to play during that time.
Now based in America, Moore is the co-founder of Indian Wells. A tournament that is known by many as ‘the fifth slam.’ A name he surprisingly is not a fan of. This year’s edition in March was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but some have suggested that the event could be held later in the year. Something Moore described as ‘possible, but not practical’ given the time of the year. He has also branded the possibility of both the US Open and French Open occurring within a five-week period later this year as ‘crazy.’
Moore’s reign as tournament director ended in 2016 after being caught up in controversy following comments he made about female players. Remarks he has since apologised for and tells Ubitennis he has ‘made peace’ with the WTA. Former world No.2 Tommy Haas has now taken up the position. A move that Moore has hailed.
“Replacing myself with Tommy Haas for the tournament has been very good because he has access, was ranked number two in the world and has a lot of knowledge.” He said.
“He is an extremely polite man. If one of the players gets a call from him they take that call because he is very respected and does a very good job for us in Indian Wells.”
Some insight has also been given about Larry Ellison. The American billionaire who is the current owner of Indian Wells. It is the investment from Ellison in recent years that has enabled the transformation of the tournament.
“Outside of the tour players, very few people know as much about tennis and tennis results than Larry Ellison.’ Moore commented.
The full interview where Moore speaks in depth about all of these topics as well as others can be watched below.
NOTE: Interview was done before an official announcement regarding Wimbledon and the dates of the 2021 Olympic Games was made.
