Alison Hughes

Alison Dorothy Hughes MBE (née Lang; born 1971/1972[1]) is a British tennis umpire who has umpired in multiple women's Grand Slam tennis finals, as well as in the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and at the 2004, 2008, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.

Alison Hughes

MBE
Women in blue blazer sitting on a high green chair with two large microphones in front of her.
Alison Hughes umpiring during the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.
Born
Alison Lang

1971 or 1972 (age 51–52)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationTennis umpire
Years active1993–present

Personal life

Lang was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. She represented Northumberland in U-18s tennis competitions.[2] She currently lives in Warsash, Hampshire.[2]

Umpiring career

Lang began umpiring in 1991, when she began umpiring junior matches in North East England. In 1993, Lang made her umpiring debut at Wimbledon.[2] Lang has umpired the finals of all the Grand slam tournaments. In 2003, Lang was awarded the International Tennis Federation Gold Badge status, the highest status for a tennis umpire.[3] In 2011, Lang was named the Lawn Tennis Association's Official of the Year.[2][4][5]

In 2003, Lang umpired at the Wimbledon Championships for the first time.[3] She was an umpire at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics.[2][6] Whilst umpiring the 2015 Australian Open women's final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, Hughes invoked the "hindrance rule" against Williams for shouting "C'mon" just as Sharapova was trying to return the ball.[7] In the same year, Hughes umpired the women's singles finals at Wimbledon for the sixth time, [2][1] as well as the Fed Cup final between the Czech Republic and Russia. It was her twelfth Fed Cup final, and she was part of the first ever all-female officiating team at a Fed Cup final.[8] In 2016, Hughes umpired a US Open match between Marcos Baghdatis and Gaël Monfils, and gave Baghdatis a formal warning for using his mobile phone during the changeover time.[9][10] She umpired the final of the 2017 Australian Open, which was the last final contested between sisters Serena and Venus Williams.[3]

Hughes umpired the men's final of the 2018 US Open between Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro. During the match, she gave Djokovic a code violation warning for exceeding the shot clock.[11] She was the third female umpire to officiate a men's Grand Slam final, after Sandra de Jenken and Eva Asderaki.[3] At the 2021 Australian Open, Hughes argued with Karolína Plíšková after Hughes gave Plíšková two warnings for smashing racquets. Plíšková argued that as the second incident happened in the players' tunnel, it should not have been under Hughes' jurisdiction.[12] She later umpired the Australia Open women's final between Naomi Osaka and Jennifer Brady; it was the 22nd Grand Slam final that she had officiated.[3]

Honours

Hughes was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to tennis.[13]

References
  1. "The Latest: Alison Hughes will serve as chair umpire for women's final at Wimbledon". Fox News. 11 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. "Tennis umpire Alison Lang keeping Wimbledon stars in check". The Journal. 25 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  3. "History Makers: Alison Hughes". Lawn Tennis Association. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. Bialik, Carl (14 November 2013). "Gender Disparity Remains in Tennis Officiating". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  5. Matijaca, Danni (14 September 2015). "Croatian Female Umpire was the Chair Umpire of the US Open 2015 Women's Finals". Total Croatian News. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  6. Vasavda, Mihir (20 September 2015). "Davis Cup: In doubles, India play with a hand tied". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  7. Pearce, Linda (31 January 2015). "Australian Open: Serena Williams wins sixth title". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  8. "Petra Kvitova to open Czech Republic challenge against Russia in Fed Cup final". Sky Sports. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  9. "U.S. Open player chastised by umpire for using cellphone during match". CBS News. 4 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  10. "Marcos Baghdatis handed warning at US Open for texting his wife during loss". The Daily Telegraph. 4 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  11. "US Open men's final sees quiet day from chair umpire". ESPN. 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  12. "Australian Open: Karolina Pliskova breaks racquets in loss, Ashleigh Barty wins". BBC Sport. 13 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  13. "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B19.
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