Pride Month: USTA Official, Jae Washington

A conversation with a Texas tennis official, Jae Washington

Tell us a little about yourself…

My name is Jay Washington I'm a 43 year old black & gay USTA official, i'm originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana but I currently live in Houston, Texas.

How did you get introduced to officiating? 

My tennis officiating journey began when USTA sent me an email stating that I could become a USTA official. I signed the interest form and gave all the information that was needed. I was then reached out to by Kevin Foster who informed me about next steps needed to become an official, one of those steps were to do my safe play and to do educational courses and also fill out a vision form.

From that moment on I was then contacted by Terry Gatzki and she would then connect me with Houston officials in the area.

One of those officials being Gloria Dial, who I'm very familiar with runs tournaments here in the Houston area and helped me with my shadowing and also with my check point list and made sure that I felt comfortable with all those things that we need to become a USTA official. After doing several hours I was connected back with Terry who then went over the checkpoint list with me.

How do you believe allies can support the LGBT Community?

I believe they can support us by giving more people like myself an opportunity to share their story with the world which is what I'm doing now because I feel like being visible matters so me being an LGBTQ+ member allows me to share my story with the world and I think that's a great start so that's awesome.

What message do you have for other LGBTQ+ individuals considerting opportunities to be officials?

My message would be to reach out to your local USTA official and see what steps they can take to become a USTA Texas official

How have you seen the tennis community evolve in terms of inclusivity and diversity?

the US Texas has now allowed us to have safe space for us for LGBTQ+ plus individuals like myself, we do have a committee now with USTA Texas which I think is a great step for us to move forward and show that you know we've been inclusive and allowing our voices to be heard. 

What is your favorite part of officiating?

My favorite part would be having to help players when they have a dispute or disagreement and bring them to the middle of the court and come to a resolvement and have fair play amongst the players.

What is the most challenging part of officiating?

The hardest part would be the grueling time you have to spend on the courts or in the tennis facility, sometimes it can be very draining with being on your feet for so long and with the certain climate it can be challenging, but it is fun I love it!