Official (tennis)
In tennis, an official is a person who ensures that a match or tournament is conducted according to the International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis and other competition regulations. At the highest levels of the sport, a team of up to eleven officials may be on court at any given time. These officials are broken up into categories based on their responsibility during the match. Contrastingly, many tennis matches are conducted with no officials present directly on court. Certification Tennis officials are certified by their respective national associations. The ITF also certifies officials in the categories of the chair umpire, referee and a chief umpire. Each ITF certification or "badge" is broken into five certification levels. The first, green badge, is considered sufficient for officiating at the highest levels of tennis within the official's own nation and is not divided into categories (and is primarily used in Spanish- and French-speaking areas, where a national organization may not be present). The second, the white badge, is divided into three categories (chair, chief, and referee) but remains only a national certification. The following three, bronze (chair umpire only), silver, and gold badge are considered international certifications. These international officials are those seen