Brett Helbig Earns Outstanding Official Award

Helbig began working as a USTA Tournament Director in the fall of 2022. As he prepared to run tourneys for the first time, a USTA St. Louis staffer mentioned to Helbig he should consider officiating to expand his knowledge base. Helbig liked the suggestion and proceeded to earn his USTA official certification this past April.

Within a couple weeks of that, Helbig worked his first tournament and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. He officiated at least a dozen tourneys this year, predominantly junior events with a couple adult events sprinkled in, too. He additionally worked some national-level events at Dwight Davis with top-end talent participating.

“I played tournaments as a kid,” Helbig said. “Once I reconnected with tournaments as an adult provider and got back into that scene, I really enjoyed what I was doing with that. I said to myself, ‘You know what, I want to be around these more.’ Becoming an official was the obvious way to do that. To get back in, see more tournament play and work with the juniors. It’s been great. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Helbig comes from a tennis family. His grandfather was a main influencer there, with all his children playing the sport. Helbig and his older siblings played, too, with Helbig knocking the ball around beginning at the age of 3.

He hasn’t really stopped since. Helbig was a standout at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton before playing a bit of club tennis at Saint Louis University. He has competed in USTA tournaments and plays on a Sunday 4.0 men’s team based out of Vetta Sports Concord.

Helbig worked part-time right out of high school in the summer of 2014 at Vetta Sports Concord. He has been a full-time tennis teaching pro at Vetta — predominantly the Concord location — since 2018. For the last year, he has tacked on directing junior tournaments at all the Vetta tennis facilities. While his main focus is junior programming and teaching youth beginners, Helbig coaches quite a few adults as well.

“I had a lot of really good instructors or role models when I was growing up,” Helbig said. “I try in a way to make that same connection with kids now. I like to come back week to week and see the progression of somebody. A couple years down the line look at how far this person has come in their game and as a person, too. Them developing for the sport and as an individual is always really cool for me to see.”

Helbig said he’s continually been drawn to tennis because of the competitive nature of the sport and the individuality of it.

“You can be a part of a team and things like that,” he said. “But when you’re out on the court, it’s you and your opponent. That’s a big part of it.”

As with his teaching job at Vetta, Helbig said he enjoys aiding players in his officiating role. He noted simply the presence of an official acts as an assurance to competitors and enables them to better focus on the match at hand.

“We’re there to help,” Helbig said. “It’s almost a support system for those players who are developing and starting to compete more, just to support them and back them up. We’re ambassadors for the game. It’s a way of giving back and getting that tournament experience to the next level.”

Helbig said individuals who love tennis and want to impact the game locally should consider getting involved as a USTA official. As he’s gained experience and confidence, Helbig said the difficult decisions and conversations that arise have gotten easier over time. And while he appreciates the recognition he’s earned in his rookie year of officiating, Helbig said it’s simply a reflection of the people around him.

“It’s a great honor. I feel very privileged I’m able to be out there as much as I am,” Helbig said. “You start to learn who some of the kids are and build that rapport with them. The people at USTA — the officials who work in St. Louis — have all been an amazing support system getting me trained, helping along the way and building me up.

“Really, the award is maybe more to their credit. Maybe I’m doing a nice job people think, sure. But really it’s more to them I’d almost argue because they have been such a great help. I appreciate all the support from USTA St. Louis and the St. Louis Association of Tennis Officials.”