As a professional tennis umpire, York’s Richard Haigh gets the best seat in the house at some of the world’s top tournaments. He talks to LAUREN COCKBILL about officiating at Wimbledon.


ANDY MURRAY isn’t the only young Brit who has been taking the tennis world by storm. York-born Richard Haigh, 23, is one of Britain’s most promising chair umpires, with the potential to rank among the world’s best.

Haigh embarked on his umpiring career at the age of only 16.

From line umpiring at local tournaments while still a student, he progressed to chair umpiring professional matches, which he now does full-time.

“Seeing a family friend umpire at a tennis tournament gave me the idea to get involved,” he said.

“I thought line umpiring had to be better than stacking shelves at Tesco.

“I gave it a go and have been doing it ever since.”

Pocklington-based Haigh has officiated at Wimbledon eight times, the French Open once and the US Open three times, but the last year has been unforgettable.

“I officiated at the Beijing Olympics and I recently passed the ITF Level 3 School which means this year I could be chair umpiring on Centre Court at Wimbledon,” he said.

However, the highlight of Haigh’s year was line umpiring the Federer versus Nadal Wimbledon final.

On the subject of being involved in arguably the greatest sporting contest of all time, he said: “It was hard to concentrate when the world’s best two players were playing the tennis of their lives right in front of me.

“When Nadal won he fell to the ground ten feet away from me, and the crowd erupted.”

Haigh’s umpiring journey started seven years ago, working at local tournaments in places like Grimsby.

After gaining enough experience to pass the basic line umpire course, he was promoted to call lines at professional tournaments around the country.

Meanwhile, he had started chair umpiring at junior events and by the age of 18 had passed the professional chair umpire course.

In 2006, aged 21, he passed the ITF Level 2 School, which enabled him to umpire any round of professional tournaments in Britain as well as junior matches at Wimbledon.

In December, Haigh travelled to Paris for the ITF Level 3 School.

An intensive three days of rule revision and role plays, followed by an exam, determined whether he could move to the next umpiring level.

He passed the school and is now qualified to umpire the first, second and third rounds of singles, and up to the final of the mixed doubles, at Wimbledon.

Aside from Wimbledon, the Beijing Olympics were the talk of the summer and Haigh was directly involved. Working as a line umpire for the tennis event, he was able to witness the extravagant opening ceremony.

Contemplating London 2012, he said: “Beijing was unreal; people didn’t see the real China. London will be on a much smaller scale, but bigger doesn’t mean better.”

Travelling to places like Beijing, New York and Paris seems glamorous, but the life of a professional chair umpire has its disadvantages too, as Haigh explains: “It’s a Catch-22.

“The travelling is brilliant, however I don’t get lots of free time which makes it difficult to really explore the places I visit.

“Travelling round the UK can be tough.

“I often stay in cheap hotels to save money and it can get quite lonely being away from home for long periods of time.”

This year will see Haigh face his toughest tests yet.

Having only umpired junior matches at Wimbledon, he will step up to the challenge of umpiring the professionals, with the possibility of a mixed doubles final on the prestigious Centre Court.

Good performances will confirm his potential to be a world-class umpire.

* If you would like to get involved in tennis officiating, the LTA can be contacted by phone on 020 8487 7047 or by emailing officiating@LTA.org.uk