In the cold and bleak December, Matt Croston braved icy conditions to undergo a course which trained and after passing, entitled him to be a line judge in tennis tournaments. A role defined as ‘an official in tennis to observe the passage of tennis balls over the boundary lines of the course’. His experience offered him a fresh interpretation of the backstage tennis world- despite already being an avid follower and player of tennis.
After completing a successful online application in October, Matt was invited to complete a one day training course later on in December. Here he participated in rigorous training and an insightful education into the world of tennis line judging. He said: “The course taught me all the specific signals, motions, how I am meant to project my voice plus the focus that’s needed to be a line judge.” His training included coaching on how to judge on the baseline, service line plus calling foot faults. He had to receive training on the various lines, as typically a line judge is assigned to only one line, so it is important to understand how to judge them all!
As an enthusiastic tennis player himself, Matt was confident that he was extremely knowledgeable on the world of tennis however, he feels now that he has become more aware of the importance of line judges in the sport and why they always seem unseeable at major Grand Slams. He remarked: “You might not think it, but there’s a lot of responsibility because every little close call is essentially on your shoulders and if you make a mistake, you could be responsible for some kind of outrageous sporting moment- which you don't want to be known for, you just want to be invisible all the time!”
He’s definitely going to be paying more attention to line judges when watching future tournaments and said: “You don't really pay attention until you understand the technicalities behind their job and the sport.”
Anyone over the age of 16 can become a line judge, if their application is accepted by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and they attend a one day training camp. Matt greatly enjoyed his training and looks forward to his future line judging.
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