You Never Know What They Will Do...

As an official you are often called upon to make decisions that are not popular--but now it seems that players and parents seem to be more out of control than ever...

In a team playoffs tournament last weekend in Dallas we saw a "player out of control" at its greatest example.  Seems that the player and his team showed up an hour late for their match and were defaulted.  The captain demanded to speak to the referee so the site official called her and handed the phone to the player/captain.  After he didn't get his way with the referee who upheld the default and finally got off the phone after their lengthy conversation, when the official asked for his phone back the player/captain said, "You can go get your f___king phone" and threw it over the building--completely destroying the phone.

The police were called to the site and said the official could press criminal mischief charges against the player while at the same time the player was offering the official $450 for his phone if he wouldn't press charges. Ultimately, the official did neither and chose to filed a complaint against the player.

When confronted by the police the player actually accused the official of attacking him and said that the phone "squirted out of his hand."  The officer's reply was, "You are seriously going with that story?" Obviously they knew the truth about what happened.

This player needs to be suspended for a lengthy time and the DTA and the Texas Section Grievance Committee both need to take immediate and quick action.  This guy is out of control and there is predicting what he will do in the future.  He sure doesn't need to be playing any more USTA events in the foreseeable future.

Seems that the player/captain also had an attorney on his team (don't they all), who threatened action against the official if a complaint is filed.  You can be sure many of us will be encouraging swift and punitive action against this player.

Personally, I would have taken the $450 for a new phone and then filed a complaint against the player.  As it is, the official is out of a phone and waiting on something to happen...

Congratulations to Jon Stitt and His Son, Tristan

Jon & Tristan Stitt

Its not often that we have an official who really excels at playing tennis but we do now!

Congratulations to Jon Stitt and his son, Tristan, for winning the father/son division of the 2013 National Family Tennis Championships  in New York City.   Jon is an official in the DFW Metroplex and Tristan is on the varsity tennis team at Highland Park High School.

We're all proud of Jon and his son.

How Would You Rule? Messed Up Tie Break

In a recent super-champ tournament the following occurred:

Player A and Player B were playing a singles match.  Player A had won the first set and they were involved in the second set tie break.

Player A had gotten up 7-5 in the tiebreak but they continued playing thinking they were playing a match tiebreak for some reason.  Player B then won three points and was ahead 8-7 in the tiebreak when the father of player A rushed on the court, telling his son, "Stop playing.  You have already won the match so get your stuff and get off the court."

Both players were totally confused about what to do so they went to the tournament desk to consult the referee.

How would you rule?  Here are three options:

1.  Player A won the match because he actually won the first set and then the tiebreak at 7-5 in the second set.

2.  Have the players return to the court and play a match tiebreak since that is what they thought they were playing and had not shaken hands when they left the court.  The score in the tiebreak would be 8-7 in favor of player B.

3.  Have the players return to the court and play a match tiebreak with player B up 9-7 since the referee would assess a point penalty to the father of Player A for going on to the court and stopping play.

In a day or two we will share what ruling the referee made...

Chair Training Starts This Week

The goal of many--a chair at the US Open.

It seems that one of the goals of every official is to eventually work at the US Open--and if they are hugely successful, to do a chair at the Open.  Unfortunately this is a dream come true to only very very few officials...

Every dream has to begin somewhere and the pathway to that dream may begin this week here in Dallas as we begin our CHAIR TRAINING for 2013.  This is a great opportunity for someone that wants to do chairs and is a door to collegiate officiating and the Texas Section Chair Academy in May which is considered to be the top Chair Academy in the nation.

All that is required to be involved in the chair training is that a person be a certified USTA official.  It would help if they are ITA certified but it is not a requirement.  The training takes place during Highland Park High School's dual matches in the fall and at the UNT tournament in November.  There will be qualified instructors for each match so be sure to share the news--and get involved if you are interested!

If you would like to participate, call Randy McDonald at 214 796 7402 or email him at:  rmtennis@yahoo.com

Listed below is the training schedule for this year:

August 23     Highland Park tournament (9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.)
August 24     Highland Park tournament (9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.)
Sept. 3         Highland Park vs Forney North HS  (4:00 p.m.)
Sept. 10       Highland Park vs Mesquite Poteet HS  (4:00 p.m.)
Sept. 24       Highland Park vs Creekview HS  (4:00 p.m.)
Sept. 27       Highland Park vs El Paso Coronado HS  (4:00 p.m.)
Oct. 4          Highland Park vs Grapevine HS  (4:00 p.m.)
Oct. 16        Highland Park Bi-District  (4:00 p.m.)
Oct. 18        Highland Park Bi-District  (4:00 p.m.)
Nov. 1          UNT Tournament (all day)
Nov. 2          UNT Tournament (all day)

Follow Up To The Lois Goodman Debacle

LOIS GOODMAN

Just to show that we are not biased in one direction or another on this story, we are printing a follow up story to the Lois Goodman arrest at last year's US Open.

Now that Lois has been cleared of the charges she is suing the Los Angeles Police Department.  Sounds to me like she's right in her lawsuit.

Remember the old saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

We'll keep you updated on any new developments.  Posted below is the link to the full story on this issue:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2397131/Lois-Goodman-US-Open-tennis-referee-71-cleared-killing-husband-sues-LAPD-murder-arrest.html

We've Now Made The Big Time!

Someone recently recommended a new search engine site to me:  www.bing.com

I checked it today and looked under "images" and called up "tennis officials blogs" and guess what appeared--tons and tons of our pictures from our blog!  If you are a tennis official you might want to check the site listed below and see if you are there...

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tennis+officials+blogs&go=&qs=n&form=QBIR&pq=tennis+officials+blogs&sc=2-21&sp=-1&sk=

A New Day In Tournament Travel

I did a ZAT tournament today and here's what one family drove up in.

Times have sure changed haven't they!

Effects of the Heat in Dallas In The Summer

With the heat off court sweltering at about 104 today we had a great tournament at Brookhaven Country Club--other than the one casualty on the next to the last match of the day.  Pictured here are the EMS guys as they are working over the cramping tennis player.  After some IV fluids he went home with his wife and kids.

Just goes to show you how hot it can get in Dallas in the summertime...

Welcome To The World of Women's 2.5 Tournament Tennis

While standing by the tournament desk this weekend I heard two 2.5 ladies come in to report their score.  They were both beaming and ecstatic that they had finished their match and hopefully had gotten everything right.

The winner of the match said, "I won.  4-2 and 7-1."

Welcome to the world of women's 2.5 tournament tennis...

Tennis Officials Aren't Always Working...

In our officiating world it isn't always work--but frequently a lot of fun!  Here are some great pictures of the Wrights and Tolberts at their "toga weekend."

Guess who...

All dressed in their toga attire!  Tom and Vickie Wright and Gary and Pam Tolbert.

The ladies enjoying a few minutes to themselves.

Elegance personified.