For Belper-born Andrew Jarrett, a passion for sport has always burned brightly.
And, through tennis, the boy who grew up in Derby dreaming of emulating his sporting heroes has gone on to travel the world as a player and coach, before overseeing some of the most iconic matches at Wimbledon as tournament referee.
My earliest ambitions growing up in my back garden in Derby were to score the winning goal for Derby at Wembley, kick the winning points against the French at Twickenham, score a century for England at Lord’s against the Aussies, or sink a ten-footer at St. Andrew’s to win The Open and yes, to win Wimbledon,’ remembers Andrew.
‘All these things were in the mind of the ambitious young lad and they were achieved on a regular basis… albeit in my own mind in my garden!’
Whilst a lover of all sports – he recalls being ‘hooked and mesmerised as a youngster by the magic of Brian Clough at Derby County in the late 1960s and early 1970s’ – it’s tennis which has given Andrew so much.
‘We used to play at The County Club at Crewe Street, in Derby, now the Derbyshire Tennis Centre,’ he reveals.
‘I had two older brothers both pushing Derbyshire standard, so I became that irritating small child pestering everybody to have a hit with me!
‘I must have had natural talent of some description and was fortunate to have played a lot from an early age.’
In his playing days, Andrew is best known for his success in doubles, notably winning the Auckland Open in New Zealand in 1982 alongside Jonathan Smith.
There were doubles successes in the majors too, reaching the Australian Open semi-finals in 1978 and the Wimbledon quarter-finals the same year.
However, his time competing on court constitutes just one part of a three-phase career in the sport, as he explains.
‘My two ambitions in tennis were to play at Wimbledon and play Davis Cup for my country and I was fortunate to do both,’ he says.
‘At the end of my playing career I coached for a number of years, the highlight being coaching the Olympic teams in Seoul and Barcelona, which was a fantastic experience.
‘I started off at ground floor level with the coaching. I headed out to Dubai for a couple of years, working with low level players whilst taking qualifications and learning the trade.
‘As a player you’re self-sufficient and working at improving yourself, it’s a very different set of skills needed to translate that into helping other people.
‘Gradually you get better and I started to work with better players and ultimately began coaching the top British players who were transferring from being very good juniors into professionals.’
In the 1990s, personal circumstances brought an end to Andrew’s coaching career but it certainly wouldn’t herald the end of his tennis journey.
In fact, the role he is arguably now best known for was still yet to come.
‘I stopped coaching when I decided to stop travelling - with the birth of our daughter I didn’t want to be travelling as much,’ says Andrew.
‘I took a call from the All England Club, who asked if I was interested in the officiating side of the game and that started a five-year process of learning.
‘I began working small junior tournaments before moving up to bigger tournaments, passing exams in the process, and ultimately got the job at Wimbledon.
‘The goal was always playing, coaching or officiating and the dream was always linked to Wimbledon, so having the opportunity to run the tennis at such an iconic competition has been a real privilege.’
Andrew’s longevity in the demanding role of tournament referee at the world’s most iconic tennis tournament is testament to his standing in the game.
For 14 years between 2006 up to his retirement in 2020, he earned the respect of officials and the biggest stars in the game.
And, for Andrew, his past experiences played a big role in his ability to perform his duties to such a high level.
‘It was very useful to have been a player and coach because a lot of officiating comes down to dealing with players and coaches,’ he explains.
‘When explaining why I was making certain decisions to people not happy with them I could understand where they were coming from, I had empathy for the position a coach or player may have.
‘You need to treat players like the human beings they are. I worked very hard at trying to be normal with everyone, perhaps having conversations that had nothing to do with tennis, so they saw you as more than a faceless official - that’s very important.
‘There’s perhaps a misunderstanding sometimes about the role of a referee. It’s very different to the role of a chair umpire, although we work closely with them, who sits on court making the decisions that control one particular match.
‘Your responsibility as referee is to the sport and to protecting the integrity of the sport and, if necessary, enforcing the rules, spirit and ethos of the sport we love.
‘What we want is a great game of tennis enjoyed by millions of people and if you can get to the end of a tournament having fulfilled those responsibilities, you’ve done your job.’
And what a time to have been in the role. From the domination of Serena Williams to the ‘fab four’ in the men’s game, Andrew has many memories to look back on.
‘I’ve been very lucky to have been involved in one of the golden eras,’ he says.
‘People say this is the greatest but I would disagree, I think there have been numerous. Yet there’s no doubt the Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and, because we’re British, Murray era has been incredible.
‘I was lucky to see that era play out. The dominance of Federer, challenge of Nadal, emergence of Djokovic and Murray’s Wimbledon win - the first British male champion since Fred Perry.
‘Standout matches include the magnificent 2008 final between Federer and Nadal which was arguably the best match I have ever seen at Wimbledon – two great players at the top of their game.
‘The Isner versus Mahut match stands out too – the longest match of all time at 11 hours and five minutes. Another epic on my watch.’
Given Andrew’s experiences across three distinctive facets of the game, it goes without saying that a book just begging to be written.
And, in Championship Points, published in June this year, Andrew has brought together memories, anecdotes and observations from decades in the game he loves.
‘I’ve always enjoyed words and writing, as well as the nuances between the spoken and written word,’ explains Andrew.
‘I spent many decades travelling, often on my own. In my hotel room I would often jot notes on things that happened that day which had pleased me, excited me, upset me, made me angry - all the emotions you get at a day at work; I saw it as a release.
‘The collation of those notes have played a big part in Championship Points. I hope it’s an enjoyable look at the three different perspectives of professional tennis; I hope it brings a certain rawness to it.
‘It’s my experiences, thought processes, how I felt at the time – the hopes, fears, highlights, challenges and frustrations - and I hope it strikes a chord with those going through it now, those who have done in the past or those considering it in the future. That would be enormously gratifying.’
There is, concludes Andrew, an even more personal reason to have put pen to paper.
‘I feel parents and children rarely have the conversation around what the parent did before the child was around, life gets in the way,’ he says.
‘My daughter, Jasmine is 31 and has a copy sitting on her bookshelf. I don’t know whether she has read it, she may never read it, but I like the idea of it sitting there, knowing one day she might be interested in what her dad did a long time ago; that gives me a lot of satisfaction.’
Championship Points is available to buy at champinshippoints.com.
