Karen Moorhouse is set to join the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) as the agency’s new Chief Executive Officer, said the integrity body in a press release today.
Transitioning from Rugby to Tennis
Starting from February 6, 2023, Moorhouse, whose appointment to the role was confirmed by the Board of the ITIA today, will commence her duties as CEO, joining the tennis integrity body from the Rugby Football League in the UK where she spent the last 14 years serving as the league’s Chief Regulatory Officer.
Delighted at the opportunity to join an organization featuring high-caliber sports individuals who share a commitment to protecting the integrity of the sport, Moorhouse hailed the efforts to show the way forward.
“By establishing and funding the ITIA, tennis is already rightly recognized as leading the way in how it deals with integrity matters,” she said, outlining that her focus would be on the relationships with “stakeholders and other organizations in the sporting, anti-doping and betting landscape” in search of “new ways of educating and supporting players and others involved in the sport,” as well as “monitoring compliance with the rules.”
“All with the overriding aim of ensuring that Tennis remains a trusted sport attracting new players, commercial partners and fans,” she concluded.
Moorhouse, who will replace Jonny Gray at the helm of the ITIA, has also served as a non-executive director on the Board of the Rugby League World Cup that was hosted earlier this year in the north of England. Grey left the international tennis integrity body in September.
‘Skills, Experience and Personal Qualities’
“Karen stood out from a strong field of candidates as the person who combines the skills, experience and personal qualities to take integrity in tennis to the next level,” said Jennie Price, Chair of the ITIA Board, highlighting her “deep knowledge of integrity in sport,” as well as the “impressive governance and commercial experience” she will bring to the role.
“Above all, she is team-focused, inclusive and collaborative,” Price added, delighted at Moorhouse’s decision to join the ITIA.
Established in 2020 by the International Governing Bodies of Tennis “to promote, encourage, enhance and safeguard the integrity of professional tennis worldwide,” ITIA showed on multiple occasions its determination to keep the sport clean of any shenanigans.
Among the latest to test its resolve were two French players, Jules Okala and Mick Lescure, who were handed lifetime bans over match-fixing offenses going back to 2014, and a Bulgarian umpire, Stefan Milanov, who was suspended for 6 months for involvement in betting activities.