Becoming a tennis referee

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.

Book onto a course now!

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