Andrew Jarrett - Wimbledon Referee for 14 Years

**Dan Kiernan** (0:09)
Welcome to episode 191 of Control the Controllables.
And Wimbledon is around the corner. We all love the grass court season. It's time for us to eat strawberries and cream, to drink Pimms, to sneeze a lot because of that smell of that freshly cut grass. And we hope obviously that the sun shines upon us just like it just has through the two weeks in Paris for Roland Garros. And who better to have on as we move into this period of the tennis year than the 14 year Wimbledon referee. It's like a James Bond. When a James Bond retires, we all want to know who's gonna be the next James Bond. Is it Sean Connery? Is it Daniel Craig? And that is what the Wimbledon referee position holds. And Andrew Jarrett held that for 14 years between 2006 and 2019, where his final match saw Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in that classic 13-12 in the fifth set match.
And not only does Andrew come on with stories of Wimbledon and behind the scenes as a referee, but he also played to an incredibly high level. He was a Wimbledon player himself. He was Davis Cup representing Great Britain and winning matches for them. And then he moved into the world of coaching.
He coached at a high level. He then worked at the Lone Tennis Association and also the ITF. So I think it's fair to say we've got a lot of lenses of the game that Andrew can tell us about. He speaks brilliantly. He's a funny man and he's got some great, great stories.
I loved my time speaking to him and I'm sure you will love your time listening to him. I'll pass you over to Andrew Jarrett.
So Andrew Jarrett, a big welcome to Control the Controllables. How are you doing?

**Andrew Jarrett** (2:18)
I'm very well, Dan. Thank you so much for inviting me onto your podcast. I'm very privileged.

**Dan Kiernan** (2:24)
You've very much been on the list for a long time, you know, and to get someone of your experience, Andrew. And I know today is a special day because you have your book that you have been working on for a long time. And we're gonna get into that and many things today, but Championship Points is released today, I believe, June the 13th.
And when I read through the book and I felt very privileged to get the chance before other people did, there was so many stories that I related to. And the thing that hits me, Andrew, is I'm now at the stage of my career. I've done so many things that you had done.
So I'm now waiting for the call from Wimbledon. It feels like maybe now, this is the time I move into officiating. So what happens? When does that come?

**Andrew Jarrett** (3:17)
Hey, well, Dan, first of all, I'm absolutely delighted that you read the book. That means that one person has read it. And I mean, that is a start, isn't it? I hope one or two others might read it, but I'm delighted to hear that you got through it.
As to Wimbledon, I'm looking forward to watching this space. And if it happens, I'll be the first to shake your hand.

**Dan Kiernan** (3:36)
I'm waiting. My phone is at the side.
How old were you when you got the call?

**Andrew Jarrett** (3:41)
Oh dear, I mean, now you're giving me a math test so early in this interview. And I would say mid forties. That's a fairly general one.

**Dan Kiernan** (3:50)
So maybe a couple of years time it'll come.
And I wanted to start, look, there's loads I want to delve into. There's so many topics that, you know, emotive topics. This is our life, isn't it? Tennis is our life for so many of us. And, you know, like I said, so many things that we can relate to. But starting with a lad from Derby, why tennis?

**Andrew Jarrett** (4:13)
I think it was because I grew up around and in a tennis family. So I had two older brothers that were both playing.
And when I was a very little boy, they were already pushing on sort of county playing days. So therefore I grew up at tennis. I started to bug everybody. I was the irritating little brother that, you know, wouldn't sit still, always wanted to pick up a racket and play. And if that failed, then there was a practice wall. And so I'd spend hours trying to knock down this practice wall.
And so it started. But very, very early days, it became my lifetime's ambition to play for my county. And so it started there.