A tennis referee is the person who is responsible for supervising all players at a competition to ensure they follow the rules of tennis.
How do I become a tennis referee?
To become a tennis referee you must complete a two day course with mentored experience in between the two days.
Pre-requisites
- Complete the competition organiser course or have relevant experience
- Complete the pre-course reading.
Duration and course structure
Day one
- Fair Play
- Rules of tennis
- Code of conduct
- Refereeing duties.
|
Mentored experience
- Practical experience
- Shadowing (at least two) qualified referees at three competitions.
|
Day two
- Role of the court supervisor
- Handling situations, such as on-court disputes
- Tournament organisation
- Tournament experience.
|
Course assessment
The two day course will be pass / fail and the criteria will include assessment during the course, completion of a workbook and passing an exam.
Next steps
After passing the course and becoming a licensed official you can apply to organise and referee Grade 5, Grade 6 and 7 competitions locally, such as Mini Tennis and matchplays at your local tennis venue or local open tournaments.
You would also be eligible to be selected to referee at grade 4 tournaments and could be selected as a court supervisor at higher graded tournaments.
Please note that Referee courses do not ordinarily run throughout the summer months.
To register your interest or for more information email: officiatingsupport@lta.org.uk