Zverev hit the chair with his racquet three times and came close to hitting the umpire's foot at one point. Umpired 5 Wimbledon singles finals, 4 Olympic Gold medal finals, and first female to umpire a World Group Davis Cup. Over 10 years as a full-time official. [64] ITF designó los árbitros para el choque de Copa Davis entre Chile y Australia"[ITF designated the officials for the Davis Cup clash between Chile and Australia] (in Spanish). Cooperativa.cl. 18 July 2008 . Retrieved 5 September 2021. Mariana Alves' missed call ushers in Hawk-Eye". Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023 . Retrieved 30 August 2023. Serena Williams and referee Brian Earley at the 2018 US Open. Photograph: Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Pedro Bravo (Chile). Pedro was a tennis teacher before umpiring. He worked for the Chilean Tennis Federation as Tournament Director. Now deceased. [91] Moreover, they must remain professional throughout the match and be able to maintain impartiality – even if one player is favourite over the other. One balmy afternoon in Rome, I met the Croatian umpire Marija Čičak, a leading official for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and a gold badge holder, who has short grey hair and a mischievous smile. In 2021 she became the first woman to umpire the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. Like most officials, she’d be happy if you didn’t recognise her. In the chair, she calls herself the invisible woman; off-court, she is calm and eloquent. Following special procedures for different types of matches (e.g. pro tournaments or grand slam events). For this article, though, I was granted exceptional access to many of the profession’s most experienced officials. Over breakfast at his hotel in Rome during the Italian Open, Mohamed Lahyani, a Swede who is one of the longest-serving umpires on the ATP tour, told me how satisfying it was to finally speak freely, likening it to releasing a pressure valve. When I sent follow-up questions, he would reply with seven-minute voice notes over WhatsApp and introduce me to other umpires who I should speak with. It was important, he felt, to show how hard it is to officiate at the highest levels of professional tennis. “Some people say the job has gotten easier, but I’d tell you otherwise,” Lahyani said, “because of the pressure.”

ITF umpire; Officiated the 2018 Australian Open women's singles final, the 2019 Wimbledon Championships women's singles final, the 2021 US Open Women's singles final and the Fed Cup Final 2019. She officiated the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Women Singles Final Match. Officiated the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup Final. In 2022 she officiated the Australian Open women's singles final. [41] The incident has additionally drawn attention to the status of the ATP’s internal investigation into Zverev after his ex-girlfriend, Olya Sharypova, publicly accused him of domestic violence at the end of 2020. Zverev has denied Sharypova’s accusations and welcomed the investigation. An ATP spokesperson told the Guardian last month: “The investigation is ongoing. We have contracted a third party with expertise in this area to assist in our investigative process.” However, both are suspended punishments and Zverev will instead be on probation for a year until 22 February 2023. Only if he commits another code violation over the next year will they be activated. Somat officiated many Grand Slam matches [85] before being decertified by the ITF for an apparent breach of the code of conduct. [86]

Gerry Armstrong (Great Britain). Gerry defaulted Mc Enroe in the 1990 Australian Open, after the rules had just been modified. ITF Supervisor Ken Farrar was called on court to confirm the new ruling. [89] An adjustable seat height is also a popular feature on these chairs, as it allows the umpire to adjust the chair according to their individual needs.Zverev was the second seed in the singles draw and the defending champion in the tournament. He had reached the second round after the latest match in history, finishing his three-set win against Jenson Brooksby at 4.55am on Tuesday morning. Zverev’s second-round opponent, Peter Gojowczyk, has been given a walkover into the quarter-finals. ATP umpire; Officiated the 2017 French Open women's singles final, the 2019 French Open men’s singles final, and the 2022 Wimbledon men's singles final. [24]

had invited me along as she observed a young bronze-badge umpire. Umpires are normally evaluated by others one rank above them, and earning a gold badge takes years of near-perfect officiating. “She has great potential,” Čičak told me of the candidate. “But to go to the next level, it’s about the head.” At the highest levels, chair umpiring is an “exercise in psychology”, Čičak explained. The better the umpire is, the harder it is to spot what they’re actually doing. Freddie Sore dies at age 93". The Daily Telegraph. London. 22 June 2004 . Retrieved 16 September 2012.Underneath every great tennis umpire is a great chair! Umpires must have a comfortable chair that is sturdy enough to prevent any movement during rallies, with good visibility of the court for accurate line calls. Clarin (31 March 1998). "Gumy promises a victory against the number one of the world" . Retrieved 26 June 2022. And if you’ve ever wondered what’s kept in the little box on the side of the umpire’s chair, it’s sawdust in case players want to dry their hands. I had hoped it would be sandwiches or soda, exclusively for the umpire’s use. Talking of which, they have to bring their own cushion. That’s a bit mean, isn’t it? Although there is no statistical evidence that player misconduct in men’s or women’s tennis is on the rise, Lahyani believes that criticism of umpires is becoming more intense and personal. Technology has turned the spotlight on chair umpires like never before. “Make a mistake,” says Damien Dumusois, a French umpire who has officiated all four grand slam finals, “and it’s on the internet before we’ve finished the match.”

With more scrutiny have come growing calls for accountability, and a sense that it’s no longer possible for officials to go about their job unnoticed. Some umpires have become celebrities in their own right. As I walked around Rome with Bernardes, past the Spanish steps and the Colosseum, he was regularly stopped by tennis fans asking for a selfie. “ Arbitro! Arbitro!” (Referee! Referee!) they shouted, hurrying towards him. Bernardes assured me that it hadn’t always been like this. Tennis-Open-Woman umpire makes grand slam history". Reuters. 28 January 2007 . Retrieved 7 March 2012. ITF umpire; referee since 1989. Officiated the women's singles final at the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, as well as the women's singles final at the 5 Grand Slam tournaments, including the 2016 US Open women's singles Final, the 2017 Australian Open women's singles final, the 2018 US Open men's singles final and the 2019 US Open women's singles final, and 2021 Australian Open Women's final. ("Umpire Golden Slam") Umpired all four of the women's doubles of the Grand Slams. [30]An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. ATP full-time umpire. Officiated the 2019 Wimbledon men's singles final. He was fired by the ATP for breaking the official's code of conduct in August 2019. [50] [51] [52] On a close line call, Čičak also observed when the umpire called the score: by calling it early, umpires can shut down the doubt in the player’s minds and support their line judges. Grand Slam and Olympic chair umpire. Officiated the 2023 Australian Open women's singles final. [29] The benefits of the Aluminium Umpire Chair are three-fold. First, it is much lighter than its wooden or steel equivalents. This makes it very easy to move between courts or clubs. It is still recommended that two people move this umpire chair at any one time. Second, it is weather resistant. It can be left outside all year round and will last a very long time. Even in winter when it is windy and rainy this umpire chair will stand strong. Third, as it is aluminium it does not rust. This ensures a professional and neat umpire chair for a very long time.