Onny Parun has been a harsh critic of Tennis New Zealand (TNZ) over the past few years, but will soon work as a consultant for the national body.
The former world top-20 player and Australian Open finalist has been less than complimentary of TNZ's performance under the stewardship of chiefexecutive Steve Walker and Don Turner before him.
After last year's Davis Cup defeat to the Philippines he lambasted Walker and coaching director Paul McCraw for leading the sport "down the road of oblivion". He also said the game's problems were "spiralling out of control with no end in sight".
Crucially for Parun, Walker has since resigned as CEO and returned to Australia and a new chief executive is due to be announced this week.
Parun has been employed to help with the high performance programme and work alongside Davis and Fed Cup captain Marcel Vos and former Kiwi No1 Brett Steven, who is on the board of TNZ. He will also put together a network of coaches overseas for New Zealand players to tap into when they are travelling.
There appear to be political motivations behind the move. Many within TNZ believe it's better to have Parun working for them rather than against them as a critic. It's something Steven has been advocating for some time.
There are others, however, who wonder how long the relationship will last, with one saying, "what happens the first time he doesn't get his way?"
TNZ chairman David Patterson acknowledged cynics would look at the appointment as a way to silence Parun.
"We don't have enough tennis talent in this country not to use someone like Onny," Patterson said. "We would rather have Onny heard before we make decisions.
"We might well make decisions that he doesn't agree with and if he still wants to go to the media, then so be it. There will be no constraints placed on him."
Patterson said funding would soon be channelled into a few players rather than spread across many.
Parun works as a tennis coach in Wellington. He previously worked for TNZ and took a number of junior teams overseas.
