Brian Tobin, former president of the International Tennis Federation, dies at age 93

LONDON (AP) — Brian Tobin, the former president of the International Tennis Federation, has died, the sport’s governing body said.

The ITF said Tobin died on Monday at the age of 93.

Former Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard also confirmed Tobin’s death in a message to the Oceania Tennis Federation on Wednesday.

“Brian will always be remembered as the Tennis Australia president (1977 to 1989) who successfully moved the Australian Open from Kooyong to Melbourne Park in 1988 and set the scene for me and the presidents that followed to grow the Open to become an equal partner with our fellow Grand Slams,” Pollard said.

“I have heard from his son Geoff who writes that ‘we visited him on the night and he was very calm and peaceful.’ We had an overwhelming sense of relief for Brian, who had been through a difficult period.”

Born on Dec 5, 1930 in Perth, Australia, Tobin became the first fulltime president of the ITF when he was elected to the first of his two terms from 1991 to 1999, overseeing the international federation after tennis was reintroduced into the Olympics in 1988.

ITF president David Haggerty described Tobin as “a great president” who “oversaw tennis’ emergence as a truly global sport.”

Tobin was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2003.

He is survived by his wife Carmen and sons Geoff and Alan.

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