How Much Do Tennis Grand Slam Umpires Earn?

Grand slams are the most important events in the tennis world for the tennis players and the entire fraternity in general. They are the highlight of the calendar year and millions of people worldwide watch them. It is where the tennis greats fight for the most prestigious title there can be. An important part of any Grand Slam but often overlooked due to the frenzy around the place themselves are the tennis umpires at any match at the grand slams.

They are an integral part of the Grand Slam tournaments. In many cases have the most important role to play in a match. If you are curious about the umpires too, you are in the right place!

Umpires at a tennis match

Tennis has two sets of umpires. One set is all the line-umpires who watch whether the ball is being played within the proper boundaries. The other is the chair umpire who officiates the match, keeping a check on the rules and score. 

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While both the referees have an extremely crucial job, given that there is little to almost no recognition for umpires. It is still the chair umpires who are known for their work. 

How much do tennis umpires get paid?

Like most sports officials, umpires are paid on a per-match basis. Gold badge umpires earn more than their bronze or silver counterparts. According to sources, the chair umpires at ATP and WTA matches earn around £950 per match. But at Grand Slam tournaments, the rates are significantly higher, with them getting £3,000 per match and £5000 for semi-finals and finals.

Line umpires on the other hand earn £500 per match fees based on their experience. But, again at the Grand Slam tournaments, their earnings increase by a significant measure and they get around £1,500.

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But, what is to be noted is that there exists a significant pay gap with regard to gender, in tennis. For example, for £1500 that a male umpire is getting, a female umpire, officiating a match of similar significance will get only £750. This is indeed extremely unfortunate.

Ranks of umpires

The road to being a chair umpire is not the easiest. Any umpire in top-tier tennis at an international level will have to go through a baseline certification process as mandated by the tennis authorities like ITF, ATP, and WTA. After they pass the baseline certifications, the umpires get badges which also is a marker of where and what kind of matches they can officiate.

The first two badges, the green, and the white badges are basically national certifications, allowing an umpire to work at national tournaments only. It is from the next badge that the international certifications start. First, they get a bronze badge. From there, based on performance, frequency, and experience they then receive the silver and gold badges. The umpires that you see at the grand slams are generally the ones with the gold badges.

There are 33 gold badge umpires on the circuit right now. Ali Nili, Carlos Bernardes, Carlos Ramos, Damien Dumusois, Emmanuel Joseph, Fergus Murphy, Gianluca Moscarella, James Keothavong, John Blom, Kader Nouni, Manuel Messina, Mohamed El Jennati, Mohamed Lahyani, Pierre Bacchi, Renaud Lichtenstein, Roland Herfel, Jaume Campistol, Adel Nour, Nico Helwerth, Nacho Forcadell, Timo Janzen are the men with the gold badges. Alison Hughes (née Lang), Eva Asderaki-Moore (née Asderaki), Juan (Jennifer) Zhang, Louise Azemar Engzell (née Engzell), Marija Čičak, Marijana Veljović, Julie Kjendlie, Aurélie Tourte, Paula Vieira Souza, Miriam Bley are the women umpires that make up the rest of the 33.