A Host of Challenges Greet WTA’s New Leader

Photo Steve Simon with Maria Sharapova on Sunday at the WTA Finals in Singapore. At right, the chair umpire Eva Asderaki. Credit Matthew Stockman/Getty Images for WTA At age 60, Steve Simon said, he had planned to spend the rest of his career as the tournament director and chief operating officer at the Indian Wells tennis event in California.

Who could have blamed him? The tournament in the desert is thriving, widely considered the best in the world after the four Grand Slam events.

But Simon’s professional path abruptly changed when Stacey Allaster made her surprise decision to resign as chief executive of the Women’s Tennis Association last month. Without summoning so much as a search…