The loss of former Australian Open tournament director Colin Stubs, who was instrumental in the championship's move from grass to hard courts, is being lamented by the tennis world.

Fox Sports reported that Stubs, who also participated in all four grand slams as a player, will be regarded as a key player in revitalising the Australian Open, which in the 1980s had trouble luring the greatest athletes.

He battled pancreatic cancer till his death this week at the age of 81.

Stubs left the circuit to become a pharmacist and worked at the Australian Open for several years before he focused on tennis and growing his sports marketing and management business.

The event hit arguably its lowest ebb in 1982, when none of the top-10 men’s players made the trip, but world No.1s and all-time greats Pete Sampras and Steffi Graf won the Melbourne title in his last year in charge in 1994.

When Stubs organised the Australian Men's Hardcourt Championships in Adelaide and the Dubai Tennis Championships, he was able to attract top players thanks to his solid relationships with them.

In 1988, in collaboration with the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the guy referred to as "Stubsy" also established the Kooyong Invitational.

In the same year, the Australian Open relocated to Flinders Park, which was ultimately renamed Melbourne Park eight years later, and spent $94 million building a state-of-the-art home.