LDV Photography
New Plymouth tennis umpire Luis Silva is one of 20-line umpires at the ASB Classic.
While Ajeet Rai will be strutting his stuff on the tennis court at the ASB Classic, another Taranaki local will be keeping a close eye on the action.
Tennis umpire Luis Silva will be one of 20-line umpires at the professional tournament currently held in Auckland.
“As a tennis lover, what I like the most is to be part of these events and have the opportunity to watch world-class tennis from probably one of the best spots,” he said before the event.
“I’m also looking forward to being surrounded by people who share the love for tennis and enjoy the social aspect.”
Silva, who also plays in the Soffe Cup premier competition for Huatoki, is the only official from the region. He said the achievement has taken a lot of hard work.
Originally from Santiago, Silva has been living in Taranaki for a decade and has been umpiring for the last four years.
He’s completed course supervision programmes and has already been involved in several national tournaments, including the Junior Nationals recently, where he was the chair umpire for the women’s final. He’s also been involved in the Wellington and Taranaki opens.
To be a chair umpire, he needed to have a combination of qualifications and training and experience in minor events.
Positive evaluations will then ensure umpires are selected for high calibre events like national or ATP professional tournaments.
“I had the opportunity to participate in important ones such as the Fed Cup and the latest version of the Davis Cup where New Zealand faced Venezuela just before Covid hit,” he said.
Depending on his performance at the ASB Tennis Centre, which started on January 2, there could be some exciting tournaments to come for Silva.
“[There is] an opportunity that is in sight is the Davis Cup confrontation between New Zealand and Hungary next February in Christchurch.”
He said the Australian Open is another chance to be involved in top-flight tennis.
“As long as they haven’t replaced all line umpires with technology,” he laughed.
Silva will be familiar to readers. He and his daughter, Matilde, write the weekly Soffe Cup reports.
– This content has been brought to you by Sport News Taranaki.
