USTA Officials Like Father, Like Son  

Photo (left to right): Matt and Steve Case, Kearney, Nebraska.

Officials play an essential role at tournaments of all levels. The success of an event at the local, community or professional level is deeply connected to the insurance of fair play and sportsmanship provided from all Roving Umpires, Line Umpires, Referees and Chief Umpires.

The USTA greatly appreciates the commitment these individuals continue to show by giving back and helping grow the game of tennis through officiating. Not only do they give up their own free time, but they are dedicated to continuing their officiating education from USTA.

For most, becoming an official is more than a job, it’s a calling. Officiating is a way to get or stay involved in tennis even after their competetive playing and spectating years are behind them.

This is the case for my father Steve, who found himself yearning for a way to stay active in our local tennis community once I left for college. As for myself, I felt the calling after my college tennis days were over. My father has been officiating for more than four years now and never tells me of a day that he doesn’t enjoy it. 

When he first presented the idea of me becoming an official as well, I was scared of two things. First, that I would be too young to officiate and second, that I wouldn’t have enough time. To my surprise, I was able to complete most of the certifying process in just one day and being an official didn’t mean it would take up all of my free time. Actually, the exact opposite happened, as I found that I now used some of my free time to meet people from all across the state and form a network of connections that could pay off in the future. I may have just turned 23 years old, but I feel as if the possibilities with USTA officiating are endless. It also helps to have some extra cash in my pocket.

A common misconception of officials is that they are out to get individual players, but this is not the case. In fact, many who are currently enjoying long careers as officials do it for all the right reasons, one being the drive to improve the quality of Junior Tournaments in their areas. Officials take pride in keeping the game fair and making sure the rules of tennis are being followed.

For example, look at Roving Officials who take on the responsibilities of watching line calls, calling foot faults, timing warm-ups and timing changeovers. They are even there to make certain that occurances, such as tiebreakers are being properly executed. All officials make it a point to encourage the proper sportsmanship of both players and parents. Let’s face it... sometimes the rules of tennis can be confusing or straight up difficult for beginning tournament level players, so it helps to have Officials in place to make sure matches are running smoothly. 

If the calling to become an Official seems right the steps to become certified are laid out here.