Former Dutch champion Tommy Berden acting CEO

London, Apr 30, 2014: The Women’s Squash Association (WSA) has appointed former Dutch champion Tommy Berden as its acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with immediate effect.

Berden is a familiar face within the global squash community. As a player, the 1998 European Junior Champion was forced to retire early from the PSA World Tour after undergoing multiple surgery on his playing hand to repair snapped tendons.

Already during his playing career, which saw him conquer eight PSA World Tour titles and reach a career high ranking of 22, Berden turned his attention to event management. Amongst many PSA and WSA events, the 35-year old promoter was responsible for staging the Women’s World Open 2009 in Amsterdam and the highly successful combined Men’s and Women’s World Opens 2011 in the spectacular New Luxor Theater in Rotterdam.

WSA President Kasey Brown is delighted to have secured Berden as CEO of the association: “Tommy is a proven entity. He has excellent communication skills, is highly respected by promoters and players, has a wealth of squash knowledge and an extensive network within the squash community. Equally important, he also knows exactly how our association operates after conducting an assessment of our organisation earlier this year,” said the world No14 from Australia.

Berden is also very excited with his new role: “After a disappointing 2013, the WSA World Tour is growing again with already 48 events registered on the calendar. We are looking at an increase of over 30% in 2014, which would be a fantastic achievement in these challenging times,” said the newly-appointed leader of the WSA who is married to four-time World Championship runner-up Natalie Grinham.

More information about the WSA – the vision of which is to Inspire, Empower and Entertain – can be found on www.wsaworldtour.com —- Image courtesy © SquashPics.com