It’s game, set, match for Craig Tiley’s time as Tennis Australia’s boss, and he’s put his super-luxe Melbourne bayside home on the market.
Fittingly, a tennis court is the focal point of the property, which is set on half an acre in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Aspendale.
The property is in a preliminary listing phase before it enters a formal marketing period ahead of a spring auction.
Absolute waterfront with a tennis court to boot. Picture: realestate.com.au
The sizeable waterfront house at 73 Nepean Highway is listed on realestate.com.au by buyers’ agents Mal James and Simone Clarke of James Buy Sell in Brighton, who worked with Tiley and his wife Alicia to purchase the property in 2022.
“[The Tileys] wanted some privacy but to still be close enough to the city; you could argue it’s Sorrento and Portsea but half the distance and half the price,” Mr James said.
He said Aspendale is “a bit of a hidden gem” and very similar to Brighton but without the price tag.
PropTrack data has the median sale price of Aspendale homes at $1.4 million, while in Brighton it’s north of $3.2 million.
Your own 'private' beach. Picture: realestate.com.au
The listing invites buy-side advocates or agents onto the deal, with a fee share of 1% to them.
“Why just restrict yourself to one agent? The last 100 sales we’ve done have all been multi-agent and we’ve paid out over $5 million,” Mr James said.
“Nobody’s ever knocked us back to work on the job.”
This arrangement is more common in the United States where there are brokers on each side of the deal; buyers' agents in Australia commonly take a fee proportionate to the sale price from the buyer for their services.
Portsea and Sorrento vibes at half the price and half the distance to the CBD. Picture: realestate.com.au
The indicative price guide is $11.5 million; the Tileys paid over $13 million for it just four years ago, after selling their Brighton house.
At the time, this represented a significant suburb record for Aspendale – halfway between the CBD and the Mornington Peninsula – beating previous records by about $8 million.
Mr James noted conditions at the top end of the market are a lot softer now than in 2022.
“You need to be smart in how you go about doing it, that’s why the price is what it is."
Big Volleys to fill
Tiley is swapping hardcourts to head up the United States Tennis Association, which presides over the US Open, and will likely call somewhere close to Flushing, Queens in New York City home.
The US Open starts in August each year and is the last of the majors in the calendar.
Tiley is no stranger to the US, having coached the University of Illinois’ men’s team between 1994 and 2005.
Beginning in 2005 as Tennis Australia’s director of player development, Tiley oversaw huge growth in popularity of the Australian Open.
2026's Australian Open was its biggest and most popular yet. Picture: Tennis Australia / Morgan Hancock
The latest tournament held earlier this year drew record crowds of more than 1.4 million and boasted record prize money north of $111 million.
Tiley’s successor down-under will be current National Rugby League CEO and fellow South African, Andrew Abdo, whose six-year tenure in the top job will soon come to an end.
Abdo also oversaw massive growth in his respective sport, with the NRL experiencing record crowds and revenue, arguably at the expense of diehard fans miffed at constant tinkering and interpretation of the ‘six-again’ rule leading to huge blowout scores in 2026.
Current NRL CEO Andrew Abdo has big shoes to fill when he assumes the role of Tennis Australia CEO in August. Picture: News Corp / Richard Dobson
He will also claim landmark expansion feathers in his cap, with the success of the Redcliffe Dolphins entering the competition in 2023, the Perth Bears from 2027, and the Papua New Guinea Hunters from 2028.
The NRL is currently in-talks for a record TV rights deal, expected to split games across incumbents Nine and Fox, and streaming services.
Abdo will swap a white Steeden for a flouro yellow Dunlop from August.
It’s currently unknown if he’ll have to up sticks and call AFL heartland home.
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