Diana Trickey, Liz Lahm Outline Enjoyment of Officiating

As part of Women’s History Month taking place in March, USTA St. Louis is highlighting district officials Diana Trickey and Liz Lahm.

While watching her daughter compete in high school tennis, Diana Trickey decided she wanted to try the sport for herself. When her daughter graduated and moved away for college, Trickey and a group of friends took some lessons in 2009. Trickey had a blast playing and wanted to better understand the sport’s rules, so she located a copy of “Friend at Court” and noticed online an opportunity to become a USTA official.

Trickey got connected with longtime USTA St. Louis official Mike Reichman, who helped her obtain the necessary information to get started. Trickey began officiating in 2011 and has continued ever since. In 2023, Trickey estimated she chaired more than 30 college tennis events on top of working about 15 USTA events. This spring, her calendar is already booked with college matches and USTA tournaments from mid-February through May.

“It’s been a blessing to have found the game of tennis and meet the people I’ve met,” Trickey said. “Becoming an official, I’ve met so many people who share the love of tennis and come from all walks of life. It’s just been a lot of fun to get to know people.”

While Trickey is in her 14th year as a USTA St. Louis official, Liz Lahm became a roving umpire in July 2023. Lahm — who doubles as USTA St. Louis mixed league coordinator — was in a staff meeting when the need for more local officiating help came up. Lahm had just retired from her 25-year full-time career at Ameren — the last seven working in crisis management — and decided to give officiating a shot.

“When you are officiating people who have been doing tournaments for a long time or are up there in their ranking, there is really good tennis,” Lahm said. “So not only are you watching and helping them develop, but there’s a side perk: You watch some tennis that is really good. If you are a tennis advocate — presumably that’s why you are an official — it allows you to get a second benefit out of it.”

Like Trickey, Lahm has participated in USTA St. Louis leagues throughout the years. Lahm competed in high school and for the Saint Louis University women’s tennis team before taking a hiatus to have a family. She returned to playing about a decade ago and is on 18+, 40+ and 55+ USTA St. Louis women’s and mixed teams, captaining squads on clay courts at The Highlands.

Lahm has officiated about 15 USTA events so far and worked her first collegiate event in mid-February. She said many of the people she speaks to about potentially becoming an official are already attending matches watching a loved one play. They could go one step further and give back to the game while getting paid to do so by applying to become an official here.

“I like teaching the younger kids the rules of tennis,” Lahm said. “Many of them have played before and they get on court, but they don’t know all of the nuances of the rules. Or they forget them as they are playing. That is what I enjoy the most.”

Trickey loves multiple components of tennis officiating, including working outside, ensuring matches are played fairly and simply being around the sport.

“As a tennis player, you always want your match to be fair,” Trickey said. “That’s pretty much your goal in life as a tennis official is to help the players have a good match and keep things on the up and up. It’s not easy to be a roving official in 105-degree heat. There are many people who would say, ‘Oh, you’re crazy to do something like that.’

“You have to save yourself and not do too much of that to where you can’t do it anymore. On good days, there is nothing better than being outdoors officiating a tennis match in my opinion.”

As with any job, Trickey said finding balance is critical in officiating to reduce the chances of burnout. Trickey strikes that balance by playing more tennis in the fall while reserving more of the spring for officiating work. As a player, Trickey has competed in 18+, 40+ and 55+ USTA St. Louis leagues. She enjoys the camaraderie and exercise tennis provides. And she loves the flexibility officiating offers.

“Once you learn how to be an official you can manage your schedule and be as busy or not busy as you choose, which is one of the perks,” Trickey said. “This spring during the college season, I’ll absolutely be as busy as I want to be. That’s for sure. I like to do events in St. Louis, and I tend to do more of that during the week. I like to make my schedule so I do schools or places that are convenient for me to go see my grandkids.”

Lahm called the application process of becoming an official “quite easy,” particularly because of her background as a tennis player. She completed several computer-based training courses prior to a day of shadowing another official during a USTA tournament.

“You don’t cross every opportunity at every tournament or match,” Lahm said. “It took me two or three tournaments to get a medical timeout, for example. There was one where somebody needed a new ball. There is usually somebody else working alongside you so you can bounce your ideas or ask questions along the way.”

Once Lahm finished her shadowing day, she completed a conference call with Verne Weber — USTA Missouri Valley section chair — and a call with a USTA National officiating representative before she worked her first event. Trickey encouraged individuals who have considered officiating to take the plunge, as there are ample benefits with minimal downside.

“I continue to officiate because I enjoy it,” Trickey said. “I really enjoy playing tennis, but I know my body is not going to last forever. I really enjoy the sport, and I like to keep a hand in it. I wish I would have found the sport earlier in my life. … I’m always talking very positively about officiating. The more of us who are out there promoting it, the better for our sport. It’s all about encouraging people to give it a try. You don’t know until you try.”

Interested in USTA officiating? Learn more by clicking here.