| Lynn Welch- Gold Badge ITF Chair Umpire |
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By Howie Burnett
I first met Lynn Welch when we were both playing in a Pro-Am mixed doubles tournament at the beautiful York Country Club in York Maine. My first impression was Wow I feel like I’m playing against Bille Jean King!" She had racket skills and movement around the court that most tennis players just dream of. Serving and volleying- chipping and charging- a top spin lob here a feathery drop there,she had it all!  She was a great competitor with a gentle demeanor that belied her scrappy- aggressive playing style. We were both just kids back in the mid 70s and our careers took us on very different paths. We have both stayed in tennis all of our working lives, but her road has taken her to every Grand Slam tournament numerous times and those events are at the very top of the tennis world. After having won 3 Maine state high school Women’s singles titles as a student at South Portland High in 1972-73 and 74 ,she went on to play at national tennis power house Rollins College in Winter park Fl. The wear and tear of Tennis and Basketball had taken its toll on Lynn by then, and although a standout talent, a career on the Women’s Pro Circuit was not to be. Lynn returned to the Portland area after her graduation from Rollins and began her Tennis teaching career at Tennis of Maine in Falmouth Maine. In 1989 she relocated to Hilton Head SC to teach at the world Renown Sea Pines Racket Club. In 1991 she became involved in officiating at the Family Circle Cup and has since traveled the world 30 weeks a year bringing her calm cool presence to what can often be a very hot seat. She has been in the chair calling the finals of many Grand Slam events and is one of five women in the world that hold a Gold Badge Umpiring Certification from the ITF. Look for my old friend this weekend in the Semis and Finals at the OPEN. If it wasn’t for 6 knee surgeries, she may well have been on those very same courts playing matches in a Grand Slam Event!  Howie Burnett is a staff reporter for Tennis Craze and a member of the United States Professional Tennis Association and tennis director at the Island Country Club on Marco Island. Burnett welcomes questions on strokes, tactics or etiquette. To reach him, call the tennis shop at 394-4464 or e-mail him at
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