Newcomer to Standout: Kelly Hayes honored as USTA Missouri's Outstanding Official

In celebration of Officials Appreciation Month taking place this November, USTA Missouri is highlighting Kelly Hayes.

It’s rare for a first-year official to receive an award like the USTA Missouri Outstanding Official Award. But Kelly Hayes is rare in more ways than just as an award winner.

Hayes didn’t start playing tennis until 2020 when she was looking for competitive exercise that allowed social distancing. She grew up in Colombia in South America, where tennis was a sport reserved for the wealthy and elite. Not falling into either of those categories, she only admired the sport from a distance.

“I have always loved tennis,” Hayes said. “In Colombia, you have to belong to a club to be able to play. It’s not like here in the U.S., where you have more opportunities with public courts and social tennis. You really have to have a certain income level.”

Hayes played volleyball as a youngster, and she even played it in college. When she moved to the United States in 2009 she saw the opportunities to play tennis, but she didn’t take advantage of them for another decade. Once she started playing the sport, she loved it even more. She decided that playing it wasn’t enough.

Officiating Journey

Hayes started taking courses to get her official certification about a year ago and became an official this past March. She said there are plenty of aspects of tennis she enjoys, besides the exercise and competition.

“Tennis is a sport where you have to be mentally prepared to fight, probably against yourself,” she said. “It is a constant fight of overcoming your mistakes, changing your strategy and always trying to think of different ways to beat your opponent.

“It’s a sport that makes you think fast, because you have to perform your movements and your shots in seconds. But you also need to have the strength to be able to last for two or three hours.”

As an official Hayes feels like she can empathize with players, knowing what they’re going through. She believes that helps her be a better official. She is not the only one who believes that.

“She was nominated by another official who was really impressed with how competent and professional she was,” said Leslie Echols, USTA Missouri executive director. “Our head official has told me how bright and quick she is. She picked up on everything right away.

“I think everyone’s been impressed with how enthusiastically she entered the officiating world. She officiated a bunch of tournaments this past summer. The summer tournaments are hard to officiate sometimes because the heat can be brutal, but she was a trooper. She stayed out there.”