JAMAICA’S international tennis umpire Simon Casserly has retired from umpiring after serving the sport for 20 years.

Casserly will retain his certificate as an ITF White Badge referee, which means he will still work at events as a supervisor and final judge on questions of law, but will no longer do chair umpiring.

Grateful is how Casserly describes the way he feels as he walks off the court.

“Umpiring has given me a unique opportunity to travel around the world, and meet some very special people. The level of professionalism in officiating is not replicated in many spheres of life [as] you are constantly being evaluated and are expected to maintain the highest standards on and off the court,” he said.

“It has truly been a great experience. Tennis is my passion and I can honestly say that the sport has given more to me than I have given it,” Casserly added.

His officiating has taken him to many countries, including Brazil, Peru, United States of America, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and the Cayman Islands.

Casserly was consistently appointed as one of the designated White Badge chair umpires at regional Davis Cup events, and is he proud of that achievement since umpiring was never his primary profession.

“My fondest memory is the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, in 2019. I was doing a doubles match with the home country playing against Canada. Peru was huge underdogs but the crowd really got into it.

“I conducted them, in between points, like an orchestra. Peru won the match. At the end of the event, they gave me a certificate for being ‘the happiest official’ and a replica of a Pan Am Games gold medal. I think that was the highlight of my career,” he recalled.

Casserly cited a number of reasons for his retirement, chief of which was the effect that the use of technology has had on umpiring the sport.

“In reality, at the highest levels of the game, technology has replaced the umpire,” he lamented.

“Umpires no longer make calls, Hawkeye does. There are no more line umpires at major events, the voices you hear making out calls are pre-recorded. The umpire job has become far less relevant. The umpire has also become a scorekeeper,” said Casserly.

He noted that the chair umpire is still very relevant at lower level tournaments which do not used this technology, “but at this stage in my officiating career, I have no interest in doing chairs at that level,” he noted. Finally, Casserly still plays tennis recreationally and plans to play a few amateur events when he recovers from recent knee surgery. He said he is also happy that he will now have more quality time to spend with his family in in Montego Bay, St James.

— Gerald Reid