Zverev hit the chair with his racquet three times and came close to hitting the umpire's foot at one point. An adjustable seat height is also a popular feature on these chairs, as it allows the umpire to adjust the chair according to their individual needs. The umpire’s chair is a crucial part of any tennis match . It provides the umpire with a clear view of the entire court , so that they can judge line calls and other decisions accurately and fairly. Some umpires, even great ones, can seem robotic or humourless in the chair. Lahyani is more of a showman. On big points, he’ll add ominous emphasis to the score: “fifteen-FORTY”. He has umpired every men’s world No 1 since the 90s, and describes his officiating skills as a gift from God (“because I do it naturally”).

They must also ensure that they have all of the correct equipment with them needed to officiate the match, such as a whistle, stopwatch and mark cards. One evening in Rome, I stood courtside as Lahyani umpired a match between Dominic Thiem and Fabio Fognini. By the second set, he was enjoying himself: whether it was a raised palm to calm the swelling crowd or a pointed finger to indicate the ball was long, he seemed to have every element under his control. After one contentious service line call, I spotted Lahyani giving an affirming look to one of his line judges, who smiled and nodded in response.This quality umpire's chair measures 2.7m high x 0.88m deep x 1.46m deep and has a 2m seat height. It has an easy-fold design, folding inwards for simple storage and comes complete with a pivoting tray. ENAT, escuela nacional de árbitros de tenis". ENAT, escuela nacional de árbitros de tenis de Argentina. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014 . Retrieved 12 April 2014.

ITF umpire; Officiated the 2018 Australian Open women's singles final, the 2019 Wimbledon Championships women's singles final, the 2021 US Open Women's singles final and the Fed Cup Final 2019. She officiated the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Women Singles Final Match. Officiated the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup Final. In 2022 she officiated the Australian Open women's singles final. [41] When I approached Haigh after the match, he seemed rattled and asked for time alone. The morning after, sitting in the players’ restaurant, he was relaxed again. He told me he had texted Lahyani asking for his thoughts on how he’d handled the incident, and was relieved to have been given the thumbs up. We rewatched the incident together and Haigh walked me through his thought process. Rather than returning to his chair, he had remained on court, so he could look Shapovalov in the eye. He had reminded himself to keep his shoulders down, to let Shapovalov know that he was receptive to conversation, and his responses short, so the player could vent. Without emotion, he told Shapovalov that he understood his frustration but he was just applying the rules. Shapovalov went on to win the match, and later apologised to Haigh. When I spoke to Lahyani about the incident, he suggested that with a less experienced official, the match might not have even restarted. Assigning umpires to a match is a delicate art – “different umpire, different outcome” is a phrase I heard a lot. For major tournaments, the umpires are assigned the night before the match, by the head of officiating and other senior figures. Chair umpires are not allowed to officiate anybody of the same nationality. That means if you’re an ambitious young umpire and a brilliant player emerges from your country, you’ve got a problem. One of the reasons great Spanish umpires have been overlooked for the French Open’s men’s singles final is because Nadal has dominated the tournament for almost two decades, winning it 14 times. Former world number one Murray said: "I obviously understand lots of players, athletes across lots of sports, can get very frustrated. He continued yelling at the umpire and took another swing as the umpire moved to climb down from his chair.The umpire chair sits on the side of the court and is used by umpires in matches to keep score of a tennis match and to communicate this to the audience. Often used in tennis tournaments or club final days, it can also be used for other sports such a badminton and padel tennis.