Officials

Officials

Local USTA Certified Officials are managed by the St. Louis Association of Tennis Officials (SLATO) and serve an important role during competitive matches. Below is valuable information about their responsibilities and how YOU can become an official.

While working District and Section tournaments officials are “Roving Umpires” covering 4-6 courts. Their duties include:

  • Ensuring courts are ready (e.g. net height, dry following rain)
  • Timing warm-ups, changeovers and set breaks
  • Aiding players with rules, scoring, procedures, dispute resolution
  • Overseeing medical timeouts
  • Monitoring tie-breaks, when possible
  • Overruling line calls and calling foot faults
  • Enforcing the Point Penalty System and issuing cold violations for infractions such as profanity, racquet/ball abuse, verbal abuse of a player or official, receipt of coaching, retaliatory calls, failure to follow the instructions of an official, or other unsportsmanlike conduct

Note: Officials are not line judges. Players are responsible for making their own line calls. An Official will only overrule a call if they are 100% sure the call was wrong. The overrule will be made immediately and will not be made on appeal from a player.

If you would like to become an official, please, click the link below to read about the six required steps. The work is rewarding, and the hours are flexible. If you have any questions, please, contact John Kelly, SLATO President.

Become an Official