Working as a USTA Line Umpire - my early experiences

I have hesitated to write this for several months because:

• USTA officials are supposed to be as inconspicuous as possible
• In fact, line umpires are meant to be anonymous 'extensions' of the chair umpire

Hence, you may have noticed a lack of information on the Internet about the job of a line umpire, other than that which is provided by the United States Tennis Association about how to become one.

But I feel that it's important to capture at least some of my experiences in hopes that it will help others decide whether they want to become a line umpire, or not, by better understanding what the job entails (e.g. from someone who's done it).

Like any job, there are pro's and con's, and everyone's perspectives and thoughts will be unique to themselves.  Eight months ago I knew virtually nothing about the job.  And even after attending a USTA Line Umpire class, I still didn't know what I now believe to be fairly essential information for anyone that is thinking of becoming one.

A line umpire is effectively another set of eyes for the chair umpire on a specific line; he/she may have to move from the center service line to a long line once the ball is in play.  The chair umpire facilitates the match between its players.  Among the chair umpire's responsibilities is make the final decision on fact questions and overrule clear mistakes, which includes whether a ball is "in" or "out",  he or she will calls lines when there are no Line Umpires assigned, may assign (reassign or replace) officials to lines, and may make calls if the line umpire is unable to do so.

Make no mistake, the chair umpire is in charge and is the final authority as to whether a ball is "in" or "out".  He or she can overrule a line umpire and the line umpire, even if his/her call is correct, must silently accept the chair's ruling and do nothing to indicate any disagreement with the chair's call.  So, it takes humility to be a line umpire.

There are a plethora of line umpire configurations, from chair +1 (line umpire) to chair +9 (line umpires) AND there are variations within these configurations, some of which may be uniquely derived by the chief umpire, the chair or the tournament supervisor.  So, even though you may receive a USTA Officiating Line Umpire - Participant Guide, which contains a Line Umpire Configurations section (as I did), you may have to adapt to something new "on the fly" once you're actually working at a tournament.

Among the chief umpire's responsibilities are the hiring of line umpires for a given tournament, and assigning them to crews and courts during the course of it.  Therefore, getting to know a chief umpire - or having an established official assist with a recommendation - is the best way to get work as a line umpire.

The chief umpire creates, distributes and/or posts a daily crew sheet; it has crew personnel and court assignments and usually designates a crew chief (for each crew), who has additional responsibilities like setting up the court before the match, taking care of the chair umpire's needs, and establishing the "on-off" rotation and/or positions for his/her crew.  Each chief umpire has their own way of communicating with his/her line umpires, from emails/texts in advance of the tournament to those methods during the tournament, and one chief's crew sheet may look entirely different from another's.

As far as actually doing the job of a line umpire on the court, there is a lot more to it than you probably think.  While it may look simple (e.g. on TV) to stand there, looking down a line and calling the ball "out" when the ball hits the court outside the line, did you know that you may have to move during the point AND that you may have to silently signal that the ball was within 18" of the line "in" as well?  I certainly didn't.  Also, did you know that each chair umpire may have unique preferences for how they want their line officials to perform the job?  In fact, one of the most crucial tasks of a line official is "selling the call" so that the players (and the chair) have confidence that you saw the ball accurately and made the right call.

Plus, there are other responsibilities and things to know which I'll take up in my next post.