How Much Do Tennis Umpires Get Paid?

Umpires might have a less direct impact on tennis betting outcomes in the era of player challenges. Their role is still important to ensure each match is contested fairly and players are not pushing the rules or regulations of the sport or competition.

The best umpires won’t always be at the forefront of your tennis live betting stream. They will step in when required, keeping order and making sure the match progresses at a reasonable pace.

Tennis Umpire Salaries

The highest earners on the ATP Tour are looking at salaries in the region of £350,000 per year, which is roughly 10 times the UK’s average annual salary. The leading officials on the WTA Tour are likely to be paid around £200,000.

Male Grand Slam matches are paid approximately £4,000. Women’s matches are closer to the £2,000 mark. While efforts have been paid to close the gap in prize money between men’s and women’s tennis, there is still a chasm in the earnings of the respective umpires.

All of the figures quoted above are from reporting elsewhere. Neither the ATP nor WTA publicise their salary figures for their umpires.

We do know, however, that the increase in umpire salary is sharp. At an entry-level on the tours, umpires will be looking at around £350 per match.

Line judges might not get to sit in the chair, but they can earn plenty with a fee of £500 for non-Slam events and £1500 per match for Slams and you’ll see plenty of umpire action at Wimbledon 2025 this summer.

Gold Badge Tennis Umpires

Gold Badge umpires are in charge of the prestigious, most-watched events around the world. This includes the ATP and WTA Finals, and all four of the Grand Slams in London, New York, Paris, and Melbourne.

These are the gold standard of umpires (hence the name). They have proven themselves around the world, putting in the miles, sitting through an endless stream of matches, to earn this status.

To reach this level, umpires need to be at Level 3. They then pass to bronze, silver, and potentially gold. Earnings are inevitably higher for those umpires in this elite group, but the disparity between male and female umpires remains.

As of June 2025, there are 22 male gold-badge umpires. Only 12 female umpires are of the gold badge standard.

How To Become A Tennis Umpire

The Professional Tennis Umpires Association (PTUA) in Houston, Texas is the first stop for anyone looking to become a tennis umpire. It can take up to two years of clinics at the PTUA before you can progress.

Being an umpire requires attention to detail and a lot of time. Plenty of people will fail to make the grade in Houston or will slip up when they face further evaluations in the following years.

Standards must remain incredibly high. It begins as little more than a jet-setting hobby. Umpires have to commit a huge amount of their life to travel and umpiring before they get close to the major events.

Chair Umpire Duties

The chair umpire leads the officiating team. Their main responsibility is to ensure all of the rules are followed from before the match until the final point is won.

More is required from the chair umpire than the line judges, though line judges obviously have to make big in or out calls. Chair umpires have the sometimes-uncomfortable proposition of dealing with unhappy players, and they have the final call on all decisions. As such, the chair umpire can overrule a line judge, which will be controversial at times.

Chair umpires are also responsible for completing the official scorecard. This is the formal historical record of any given match.