Famous Female Snooker Referees

Long a male-dominated sport, snooker fans have begun to see more women involved over the last decade or so.

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Female snooker referees are more commonplace than they were at the start of the century, with women overseeing some of the biggest matches on the snooker calendar…

Michaela Tabb

Since taking charge of her first ranking final at the 2007 Welsh Open, Michaela Tabb has become one the best-known snooker referees.

Aware of her significance for women in snooker, Tabb had an unusual path to the top. Fast-tracked to the major events, she suffered a redundancy earlier in her career but was soon reinstated.

Proletina Velichkova

The first of multiple female, Bulgarian snooker referees, Proletina Velichkova got her start with the Bulgarian Snooker Referees Association. Early on, Velichkova was involved in matches alongside some of the world’s best players like Judd Trump and John Higgins.

With over 9,000 followers on Instagram, Velichkova is a designer and Scandinavian studies graduate.

Tatiana Woollaston

While becoming one of the top snooker referees in the world, Tatiana Woollaston has also maintained a full-time job at the head office of Next.

First taking a European Tour event in 2010, Woollaston was refereeing a televised ranking match five years later, and was selected for World Championship play at the Crucible in 2020. It was an impressive ascent to the top of the snooker refereeing pyramid.

Eva Poskocilova

A commentator on Eurosport, where her love for the sport blossomed, Eva Poskocilova also teaches English and Czech at Prague University. She got into refereeing by helping out at a local club.

Within a few years, Poskocilova was picked up by World Snooker and has officiated countless matches involving the world’s elite players.

Desislava Bozhilova

Televised matches played a large role in Desislava Bozhilova’s interest in snooker. Cue sports were clearly a passion of Bozhilova, as she was already keen on pool when snooker really caught her eye.

Overseeing a Masters final in 2022, Bozhilova has an almost unmatched refereeing CV – taking charge of snooker events offering huge sums of prize money. That’s pretty remarkable who someone who only earned her refereeing qualifications in the 2010s.

Hilde Moens

According to her LinkedIn profile, Hilde Moens has been a referee for World Snooker since 2010.

The Belgian has been involved at several ranking tournaments, including the European Masters.

Luise Kraatz

Refereeing a 147 in just her third professional match, Luise Kraatz has gone on to be a regular at ranking events. Overseeing the final of the 2018 Paul Hunter Classic is one of the highlights.

According to her social media accounts, Kraatz has a degree in international business and takes a keen interest in gardening.

Maike Kesseler

Starting out as a player, Maike Kesseler didn’t make the cut with the cue in hand and switched to refereeing in the second half of the 2000s. Catching the eye of the decision-makers in 2010, Kesseler was soon given high-profile gigs at some of the world’s most prestigious tournaments.

Despite being one of the most respected referees on the circuit, Kesseler has never viewed this as anything more than a hobby. She works in a bank in her hometown of Mammemdorf when she’s not keeping Ronnie O’Sullivan and co in check.

Malgorzata Kanieska

If there was a Venn diagram of people with a passion for snooker and Aussie rules football, there surely wouldn’t be many people in the overlapping section. Malgorzata Kanieska would be.

Having studied space engineering, Kanieska is a fascinating character with a diverse range of interests. Eurosport’s coverage of snooker helped her to discover and fall in love with the sport.

Monika Sułkowska

Alongside being a sports journalist and project manager, Monika Sułkowska makes time to referee high-profile snooker matches.

Before taking charge of matches at the German Masters and Home Nations Series, Sułkowska oversaw her first televised match in Lisbon in 2014. She also was the match official for a 147 from Shaun Murphy early in her career.