By Mike McIntyre
Photos Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
This week our guest on The Southpaw Slice tennis podcast will be respected ITF Chair Umpire Eva Asderaki Moore. After giving birth to a baby boy last July, Asderaki Moore returned to the chair in January at the Hopman Cup. While most chair umpires go largely unnoticed, Greece's most recognized tennis official has impressed tennis fans for years with her calm approach and incredibly accurate over-rules and split second calls. I have had the pleasure to speak with her several times over the past few years both in person and via email. Here is a summary of our correspondence that sheds a little light on what it's like to watch some of tennis' biggest matches from in the chair.
Q: How did you get your start as a Chair Umpire and how long have you been doing it for now?
A: Well I started back in ’97, I was a tennis player in Greece and my tennis club organized an international tennis tournament and they asked to us help out as line judges. I enjoyed being on court doing something different and I met other chair umpires from other countries and I was only not even 16 then, so I got very excited when they told me about all the travelling and I thought why not – let’s give it a try.
Q: So it just sort of took off from there?
A: Yes it took off from there, I was lucky enough that we never really had many umpires in Greece, so I started out doing chairs and that gave me a lot of experience as well. I started travelling internationally in 2000. Later on I started travelling in 2007 with the WTA.
Q: So you’re whole professional life has been spent on tennis courts?
A: It has been, it has been more than half of my life that I’ve been doing tennis. But I love it, it’s a great job.
Q: Did you ever go far as a tennis player yourself?
A: I was a tennis player but never professionally. I played in Greece and I played in the junior rankings until I was just under 18 and I was ranked No. 7 under 16 – in Greece.
Q: Do you ever get out now and find the time to hit ever?
A: Every now and then yes, not when I’m on tournaments but when I’m back at home I try to get out and play a little bit.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges that you face in your job?
Biggest challenges, during a tennis match there is a lot of pressure because the players they play for points, they play for money, it’s their life and you are the person that needs to make sure that the match runs smoothly and hopefully there are no mistakes by anybody and everything goes well and is fair for both players. You play sometimes in stadiums like New York with 40,000 spectators and it’s a lot of pressure. So you need to make sure you’re focused and concentrated and you have to apply the rules as it happens, you don’t have time to think when you make a decision, when you make a call. You have to be super fast and I think that’s the biggest challenge. And then of course not being able to go to the toilet!
Q: Any off court challenges in the role?
A: Travel is what makes this very exciting but it is also one of the negative things because we can be on the road for a few weeks in a row and you’re missing family, you’re missing friends and you’re not at home. So that can get difficult at times.
Q: In terms of enforcing the rules is there one rule in particular that you find the hardest to enforce?
A: I don’t think so. I think the rules that are the most difficult are when you have a situation that doesn’t happen very often. Because that’s when all of a sudden, the rule is somewhere in your head and it needs to come out immediately. I think those situations are always the trickier ones.
Q: Favourite tournament for you to work?
A: So many different ones for different reasons. For Grand Slams I have to choose Wimbledon. I love the tradition, I love the grass, it’s just really nice. Then on Tour there are so many, Indian Wells I think is a favourite of lots of people. And then Rome, or Doha, or here in Canada for so many different reasons.
Q: Wimbledon – is that the one where you have to wear the purple jacket?
A: Not anymore. It used to be. We went through lots of phases of wearing not very nice uniforms. But now for the past few years it’s a nice blue blazer with cream trousers and it’s good – it’s very smart.
Q: You’re happy with the umpire fashion now?
A: Yes, it’s getting better, it’s getting better!
Q: How’s the role changed since you began?
A: I guess the obvious one is technology with Hawkeye, which I think personally has been a great help for everybody, players, umpires, the fans I think love it. Every year there are small changes and different rules. We have introduced on court coaching and again, back to technology - they can come on court with the tablets. So there are a lot of new things.
Q: Some of the older umpires must wish that these things were around when they started?
A: Probably, yes, because we have a lot of tools that help in a way to make our job a little bit easier.
Q: The match that you probably received the most attention for in your career was the 2015 US Open final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. You were the first female chair umpire to ever work the men’s final in New York. What was your reaction when you found out you were going to be working that match?
A: I was just thrilled that I was going to do that match. It was a personal goal and something that I really wanted to achieve in my career.
Q: Did those circumstances make the final anymore special from your point of view? If so, in what way?
A: The most important thing for me was the fact that I was going to achieve one of my goals. Of course to be the first female was an extra bonus. It only really hit home what that meant, especially for so many other people, other women, colleagues, from the messages that I received and all the amazing things that people wrote about it.
Q: What does it mean to be the first female official to work that prestigious final?
A: I think that for every umpire who has done any Grand Slam final it is an honour. People trust you and choose you to do that match. It is the biggest match of the tournament, the match that everyone will watch, the match that the players play for during the two weeks. Umpiring the US Open Final, with the two best players in the world, in the biggest tennis stadium in the world, makes it even more special.
Q: Broadcasters, tennis fans and even current players on social media commented throughout that final on the high level of your performance that day. How does that make you feel and were you aware during the match that you were "in the groove" so to speak?
A: I was definitely in the groove that night! You know, being assigned the final is great but it doesn’t end there. You need to prove to the people that trusted you and assigned you the match that they were right to. You need to step up to the occasion and lift your game because that’s what the players are expecting from you and because that’s what a good chair umpire should do. Man or woman is irrelevant in this case. Also there are so many people that would love to be in your shoes- or I should say in your chair- and you need to show that you are there because you deserve to be there. Of course I was aware that the match was going great and I am happy that I was able to stay focused and step up to the occasion but also that I was able to enjoy the moment and take in the atmosphere. The positive reaction of everybody after that match was overwhelming.
Q: Any special reason why your calls on over rules, challenges, etc. were so accurate that day? Carrots for lunch to help your eye site?
A: No carrots but I remember I had a ton of those little animal biscuits in the office while I was waiting during the rain delay. I don’t know if it was nerves or the fact that they were there in a massive jar in front of me but I couldn’t stop eating them. Also at some point I asked my friend Marija Cicak to bring me a coffee and even though normally I don’t drink it strong she gave me on purpose a double shot and that definitely kept me awake! Jokes aside, I think it’s what I said before. You need to be able to step up to the occasion. That’s what the players are expecting from you as their umpire. Ideally this would happen all the time because we always try to do the best we can but I am very happy that I was able to perform the way I did on that night.
Q: You had previously mentioned to me that it was once a men’s doubles final at Wimbledon that was the best match of your umpiring career. Does the US Open Final take the cake now?
A: Absolutely it goes on top of my list! For sure I treasure all my previous finals and in particular that match at Wimbledon but the Final in New York is my career highlight!
Q: Are there any matches that you wish you could forget maybe from when you were younger?
A: Maybe a few, but let’s not mention those ones!
Q: Do you get nervous going up there in the chair even with all the experience you have?
A: Always there is a little bit of nerves just before the match. As I said in the beginning when you walk out there the players are expecting from you to be always on top and to get every call right and to make everything right. I think I always get a little bit tight, but then as soon as the warm up starts I get back into my zone and I’m there.
Q: What’s one thing about being an umpire that most people wouldn’t know or realize about the job that you would like them to know perhaps?
A: I don’t know really.
Q: Some tennis fans must think it’s easy – they just sit there and call the score – but there’s obviously a lot more going on?
A: Exactly, so why doesn’t somebody just try to do a match up there and then they’ll see! (laughs)
Q: Some umpires are known for different things, like Kader for his deep voice of course, and Layani for his enthusiasm. For yourself for what would you say?
A: I know there is Twitter account about my ponytail (laughs) so I think that has to be the one!
Q: Do you follow your ponytail’s account?
A: No, I’m not on Twitter and I’m not on Facebook but it’s impossible not to know these things nowadays.
Q: So does that mean that cutting the ponytail is out of the question?
A: It would be a no, exactly. I always had a ponytail since I was a little girl so I wouldn’t change that!
Comments