Love of tennis drives USTA Nebraska's dedicated team of officials

With 26 certified USTA officials, USTA Nebraska has a strong group of ambassadors dedicated to ensuring fair play, keeping tournaments running smoothly and teaching as well as implementing the rules of tennis.

This officiating base reflects the continued growth of tennis in USTA Nebraska according to Michael Martin, chair of USTA Nebraska umpires/officials. The group also has many different backgrounds as well.

“Many officials are/were players, some high school tennis coaches and a few parents of ex-junior players,” he said. “A balance in age is important, in that older officials tend to have great experience and are also more likely to be available for events held during the work week.”

The one common interest for officials is a love of tennis, Martin said. With a variety of perspectives, each person has different goals. Some want to travel; others want to officiate locally. Some want to work a couple junior tournaments each year; others want to proceed through the officiating ranks and officiate at the US Open.

Verne Weber is an official at the section and national levels. The USTA Nebraska Hall of Famer and USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Famer said even though USTA Nebraska has more officials than other districts in the USTA Missouri Valley, it can still be a struggle to find enough for events.

“Most officials are involved in many other things, and making themselves available on tournament dates isn’t always a top priority,” he said. “In addition, some tournament directors don’t always obtain officials well in advance of the tournament date, and busy officials can’t juggle their schedules at the last minute, so we come up short.”

With that, individuals interested in learning more about becoming a USTA official can do so by clicking here. In addition to ensuring fair play at tennis matches, officials also serve as educators to the general public as well as grow the sport.

Check out more stories from across the USTA Missouri Valley celebrating officials by clicking here. Complete this form to get information about becoming a USTA official.