SA well represented at SW19

Johannesburg - Six representatives from Tennis SA will officiate at the Wimbledon Championships in London, the federation said on Wednesday.

Andrew Sethole, Marcel Gouws, Joseph Mokgoetsi, George Phiri, Pieter Hoeksma and Iain Smith were all included among the world's top officials for the grand slam competition which runs from June 23 to July 6.

This was the first time South Africa has had such a large representation among the officials at Wimbledon. It was also the first time the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) had accepted foreign officials who were only nationally certified and did not have an International Tennis Federation (ITF) certification (Sethole/Gouws and Mokgoetsi).

Hoeksma and Phiri had ITF White Badges, Smith had an ITF Gold Badge (highest qualification) and was the only referee in Africa with this qualification.

"TSA engaged with ABTO during the Soweto Open in 2013, where Adrian Wilson, the Wimbledon assistant chief of umpires, was contracted to officiate at the event," TSA said in a statement.

"Part of the reason for inviting Wilson to South Africa was to assess the quality and standard of South African officials and to, where possible, motivate selecting some of the best local officials to officiate at Wimbledon 2014 based on merit and their performances.

"TSA will be assisting the officials who have been invited for the first time by contributing towards their travel expenses and accommodation as TSA realises the importance of investing in all areas of the game and development of local officials."

SA OFFICIALS IN WIMBLEDON:

Line Umpire at Qualifying: Andrew Sethole, Marcel Gouws, Joseph Mokgoetsi.

Line Umpire at Qualifying and Chair Umpire at Wimbledon Junior Qualifying: George Phiri.

Line Umpire at Qualifying and Championships: Pieter Hoeksma.

Review Official at Championships: Iain Smith.