“He touched my butt”
Ex-referee opens up about abuse of power in tennis
Chair umpires – as important as they are for a tennis match, little is known about this circle. A former referee is now unpacking about power games by superiors.
Published: 8:30 am
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Updated: 8:38 am
Chair umpires in tennis rarely have an easy job. A game requires maximum concentration at every point, with every action. To make matters worse, you often have to deal with angry professionals. In many cases, only the players can explain themselves, the “umpires” don’t get enough of a word.
The tennis world knows just as little about referees off the court. The former referee Tamara Vrhovec now reveals the dark side of the referee’s job in the “Telegraph”. Dark because the story is about fear and power games.
Power games by leaders
“When something scandalous happens, which happens very often, few choose to say so. Because they are afraid that everything will turn against them », says the Croatian. Anyone who says something may lose their job and those in power may stay. There is no one to turn to.
She speaks from her own experience: “There were men who came to me and hoped to get what they wanted because they were older than me.” In the meantime, one of them has stopped, while another has been promoted, “although everyone knows that he is a predator and he has never bothered to hide it.” This same person once went too far at Roland Garros: “I remember that he appeared behind me and touched my butt.”
Switch to finance
For 16 years Vrhovec tried to achieve gold status. Instead, she stayed in the second-highest referee class. If she had made it to the top, the world would have been a better place: “I wanted a career where I was rewarded for my work ethic and performance.” She gave up her career and switched to finance.
She did not want to take legal action against those people, although others advised her to do so. “It’s something from the past that I don’t think about anymore. I think I have to speak up now for those who are still in the system and don’t have the opportunity.” (che)