'Worst in history': Outgoing NRL boss and new Tennis Australia head Andrew Abdo responds to Pat Cash's dire warning

New Tennis Australia boss Andrew Abdo says he will consider reaching out to former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash after his dire warning that "tennis is gonna die" unless more is done at the grass roots level across Australia.

Cash's call comes amid the enormous change at Tennis Australia, following the departure of long-time boss Craig Tiley to the US.

Abdo resigned from his position at the NRL on Monday and was named as Craig Tiley's replacement for the chief role at Tennis Australia.

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Abdo's impact on the NRL has been lauded by those in the code, but his lack of experience in the tennis world has raised questions.

Cash took to Instagram after the news was announced and said there was much work to do to save the "heart and soul" of the game.

"Can an NRL commercial exec fix the heart and soul of Oz tennis? I wish Andrew the best of luck," he wrote.

"Has he been drawn into the glitz and glamour of the AO beer sales and one point tennis matches, or is he gonna work on saving the heart and soul of Australian Tennis?

"After all, there are 49 other weeks to the year. I keep hearing participation is up? Compared to when??

"Reality is, club tennis and competition has been dying for decades!! Local coaches are exhausted and fed up, clubs are going broke, junior results are the worst in history.

"Priorities of (Tennis Australia) need a complete 180 turnaround, or as one tour player told me today, 'tennis in Aus is gonna die'."

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Abdo will officially take over the role in early August, but in the meantime remains fully invested in the NRL and the looming broadcast rights deal.

The veteran administrator says he will reach out to "key stakeholders" once he has his feet under the desk.

"In sport, what we love is people's passion for the sport and how much they care. The important part of my role is going to be listening and learning," Abdo said on Friday.

"I plan to reach out with a number of stakeholders once I start in August and certainly welcome the views of current stakeholders and former players in the game."

Outgoing boss Craig Tiley remains bullish about the growth of tennis across Australia.

"(Tennis) is now Australia's second most participated sport," Tiley said.

"If you have a look at per capita, we still rank No.2 both men and women as far as ranked players in the top 100. Obviously we would like to have more inside the top 10.

The Age reported in May that nation's tennis stars have pushed Tennis Australia to find a senior leadership position for former player Sam Groth, following his exit from state politics.

Abdo said he hasn't yet spoken to Groth and won't until at least August.

"I haven't (spoken to Sam) and it's not appropriate for me to do that right now," he said.

"I've got a job. I'm the NRL CEO. That's a full time job, believe me. Once that job finishes I'll sink myself fully into the stakeholder landscape of tennis and I look forward to hearing a large variety of views."

While NRL supremo Peter V'landys claimed "Superman and Jesus added together" could only replace Abdo, there appears to be some scepticism about his lack of experience in tennis.

The AAP reported the news that Abdo would be leading Tennis Australia was met with surprise by Aussie players at Roland Garros, with two admitting they had much to learn about him.

"It's something that's come overnight. I don't know him personally. I'm sure I would love to get to know him and learn a little bit more about what he's keen to do or what his vision is for Tennis Australia," top-10 star Alex de Minaur said after winning his first round match.

"Of course, we had Craig for a long time, who I thought did an incredible job. Tennis Australia is a really strong federation.

"In the whole performance phase, we've done a pretty good job over the last couple of years, about showing strength in numbers, especially in the men's side in the top 100.

"There's definitely places we can grow, and I'm excited to see what the vision is going to be."

Rinky Hijikata was also asked by AAP what Abdo would bring to Australian tennis.

"My guess is probably as good as yours," he said.

"From what I've heard, he's done well with the NRL, and I'm a Parramatta Eels supporter, so I follow the NRL, but I haven't paid too much attention to what he's done in the league.

"But the Eels are playing in Las Vegas next year, so maybe I'll see if maybe he can get me a few tickets for next year's game."