Becoming a USTA Official

Last August, while volunteering at the 2017 BB&T Atlanta Open, I met the State of Georgia Chair of Officials.  She was actually discussing "How to become a USTA official" with another volunteer, and I listened in because what she was saying sounded very interesting, and fun.

Apparently the United States Tennis Association has implemented an on-line (re-) certification process for its officials.  They've created content and testing which allows someone to learn the requirements of each of its jobs, and then test to show mastery of the knowledge.  One must then "shadow" an experienced official at an event to become certified.  Once certified, officials are independent contractors that can be hired to work at tournaments and events.

There are several officiating roles:  a roving umpire, a line umpire, a chair umpire, and a referee are four of the most common.  A roving umpire is responsible for monitoring matches on several different courts simultaneously (e.g. the players call their own lines, but the official can be called by any player to help resolve a dispute etc.).  Most tennis fans are familiar with line and chair umpires, though there is a lot more to these positions than meets the eye.  A referee typically hires and oversees these officials, and is the final authority on the rules of the game throughout the tournament.

I was certified as a roving umpire in the fourth quarter of 2017 and have now worked as a roving umpire at half a dozen weekend tournaments in Georgia.  I will be using this Atlanta Tennis Blog to chronicle my experiences and impressions, and hope you'll follow along.