In a bombshell development, Andrew Abdo is set to leave the NRL to head up Tennis Australia.

While neither governing body has confirmed Abdo’s resignation from the NRL or his mooted move to TA, it is understood the league’s chief executive will replace Craig Tiley, who announced in February he was stepping down this year to become head of the US Tennis Association.

The long-serving Tiley has been far and away Australia’s highest-paid sporting administrator, earning several millions of dollars a year.

Abdo’s reported resignation comes as the NRL stands on the cusp of unprecedented expansion, welcoming teams in Perth and PNG in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

After taking over during COVID-19, Abdo has been lauded as one of the code’s great CEOs.

But he will also not be on hand to finalise the NRL’s next broadcast deal nor a collective bargaining agreement with the Rugby League Players’ association.

Both deals are due for renewal after the 2027 NRL season.

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Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys shapes as a contender to serve as CEO on an interim basis, having worked closely with Abdo during his six years at the helm.

Abdo and V’landys will front a media conference at Rugby League Central on Monday afternoon to confirm the move.

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Abdo took charge in April 2020 and helped the league navigate the competition’s COVID-enforced shutdown and subsequent resumption that May.

Under Abdo’s leadership, the NRL has executed its daring plan to open the season with matches in Las Vegas, a deal that also runs out after 2027.

The league has introduced major changes to its rule-book on Abdo’s watch, most notably introducing the divisive set-restart rule.

Abdo was also chief executive when the NRL expanded for the first time since 2007, introducing the Dolphins for the 2023 season.

Prior to replacing Todd Greenberg as chief executive, Abdo had served as the NRL’s chief commercial officer from 2013 until 2020, and previously worked in the corporate sector.

Now the South African will be tasked with running the biggest sporting event on the Australian calendar.

While the likes of David Gallop, Todd Greenberg, John O’Neill and James Sutherland have all made successful switches from the various football codes to run another sport, Abdo’s impending move to tennis shapes as a bold one.

After starting at TA as the player development chief in 2005, Tiley has transformed the Australian Open into a billion-dollar behemoth

He became the Australian Open tournament director the following year and CEO in 2013.

It is expected that Abdo will fill the dual role, despite TA at times coming under fire for giving Tiley too much responsibility.

The South African-born 63-year-old always insisted the notion that being the governing body’s CEO and boss of the AO were two different jobs was a fallacy.

“A couple of things that I could say unequivocally on behalf of our chair and the board is that it is going to be one role,” he said in February.

“It actually is one role. I think that’s very much a misunderstanding.

“Those that work in the company don’t have a problem. They completely understand it. But obviously there’s a lot of people outside the company that don’t understand it completely.”

Tiley said having the CEO running the company and its biggest event was completely logical.

“The CEO is the face of the organisation and is responsible for the conversation with the externals, whether it be the members, boards or the public or the media,” he said.

“It would be like having a head coach of a team and then having someone in the back office talking to the media about how the team’s playing. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Most of the movers and shakers in Australian tennis are in Paris for the French Open, which started on Sunday.

-with AAP