Umpire Profile: Fergus Murphy

Fergus Murphy is a veteran umpire from Dublin, Ireland. He has umpired on the biggest stages of tennis. He began his grand slam career in 1995 and has been in the chair for some of the biggest and most hotly contested matches at tennis’ most prestigious tournaments. Writer Jack Martin caught up with him while he was in Montreal working on the ATP tour.

How did you get into tennis umpiring?
“The Irish tennis scene is small but I was always in Castleknock club in Dublin when I was a kid. 25 hours a day. I ended up on the committee there and I came across the umpiring association. I got myself involved with them when I was still studying at the time to be a barrister. I was writing to everyone trying to get umpiring experience. Bit by bit I umpired bigger and bigger matches. In 95, I said ‘I’ll do it for a year.’ 29 years later I’m still doing it.”

What’s the best thing about umpiring?
“There’s a lot of traveling which is a plus and a minus. You get two summers a year. In Australia and Europe and USA. But in the last 20 years, we’ve had the best players to have ever played the game. I umpired Federer start to finish, Murray start to finish, Nadal will be finishing soon and Djokovic we’ll see. To be involved in that golden era is a massive plus. I just happened to be there.”

“The best thing is the adrenaline. You become an adrenaline junkie. You are affecting the match. At some stage, you have to intervene. I’ve got used to being on edge and nervous a lot. But it’s a nice type of feeling.” 

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Have you built a relationship with players?
“A code for umpires prevents us from being friends. We are friendly but keep a professional distance. We use the same canteens as the players at tournaments but won’t sit with them to eat a meal.”

What’s your favorite tournament?
“I’d say Wimbledon. Not because of the history and mystique. But because it’s a club built in a suburb. Whereas most of the time, I’m at a purpose-built facility. If you go to the Australian or US Open, both grounds were designed for major events. Wimbledon morphed into that. Being able to walk into the village and mix with the locals is great.”

What can Irish tennis do to improve?
“When people meet me they say ‘I never knew the Irish play tennis.’ Some of the reasons are education. We don’t have the flagship player to copy. Most parents will tell their kids to focus on education rather than tennis. If we had a Roger Federer, there would be a peak in participation. It’s like back in the day when we had Stephen Roche in the Tour de France, everyone was cycling. Hopefully, we’ll be lucky and have a top player come through.”