Brad-Drewett-Obituary

Brad Drewett

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LONDON (AP) - Brad Drewett, a former tour player who led the ATP as executive chairman and president since January 2012, died Friday after a battle with motor neurone disease. He was 54.

The ATP said in a statement the Australian died at his home in Sydney.

"Our thoughts are with Brad's family on this extremely sad day for them, the ATP and the entire international tennis community," the governing body of men's tennis said in a statement. "He will be sorely missed by all."

Drewett was a top-40 singles and top-20 doubles player before he retired in 1990. He was hired in 2006 to lead operations in the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific regions, and later played a key role in securing significant prize money increases for all four grand slam events.

"A very sad day for the world of sports and tennis in particular," Rafael Nadal, an 11-time major champion, wrote on Facebook. "Our president Brad has passed away. Rest in peace."

Mardy F ish, an American pro once ranked in the top 10, said on Twitter that it was a "very very sad day for our great sport."

Drewett announced in January that he had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease - which affects voluntary muscle activity, including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body, and usually causes progressive disability.

Motor neurone disease is known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in many parts of the world, and as Lou Gehrig's disease in the United States.

Drewett's speech was noticeably slurred when he attended a news conference on the opening day of the Australian Open to announce a new racket sponsor, and he had planned to step down once a successor was found.

"The ITF family is deeply saddened to learn of the death of Brad Drewett," International Tennis Federation president Francesco Ricci Bitti said. "Brad was a valued friend and colleague to many of us here at the ITF, and we were very h appy to support him during his various roles at the ATP, most recently as chairman. His knowledge, experience and enthusiasm will be a great loss to the whole sport."

Drewett also developed and managed a number of successful businesses in the sport and fitness industry, and had worked as a commentator for two Australian television broadcasters.


Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Today through Australian Open I learned of Brads passing from MND. I went to primary school with Brad and he was in my class. Brad was a natural with a gift of being a handsome young man. The girls thought Brad was it! At sport lessons on the tennis court Brad was a natural and his talent clearly showed at that early age.
I am pleased to read Brad reached the heights of tennis and related positions in tennis business.
My condolences go to Brads family.

I was very sad to read of Brad's death. We went to KHHS and enjoyed schoolies at Tiki Village. He was playing tennis of course in Brisbane. A lovely man. My condolences to his family.

Photo by Roger Gould

It is sad that Brad died of a motor neuron disease. Brad was the star in my year 7 PE class at Killarney Heights High School in 1971. He was as tall as me, a strong lad and talented. He was also very popular and a natural leader. We often had competitions over the years in various activities and I was always impressed with his skill and determination. We all knew he was going to do well in tennis. He did, too, and told me one day he would help me out financially! He reached #34 in the world...

One year on and we still struggle with the reality of it.

May the god of comfort be a source of strength for your family at this difficult time. 2Corn 1:3, 4. Deepest Sympathy, Sue, Concord, NC

I worked on the Volvo Grand Prix when Brad was a player on the Tour, long before his success off the court at the ATP. I remember him as the nicest, kindest player on the Tour. I will never forgot his infectious smile and good humor, and how he treated everyone equally. My condolences to his family, but especially his young children. They can take some small comfort in knowing what a remarkable person their father was.

My most sincere condolences, particularly to Brad's mother Hazel whom I knew in Warialda in the 1930's.