Sad news for tennis fans: de Jenken retires

If you are a tennis fan, the news that Sandra de Jenken is retiring may hit you as hard as hearing that a top player has retired. We haven't seen that much of de Jenken lately, so it certainly appeared that a change was in the works. She has been appointed Deputy Director of the French Federation of Tennis, and head of the Sports Management Open Tournament.

de Jenken has officiated at thirteen Grand Slam finals and two Olympic events. She was the first woman to umpire a men's Grand Slam final, the 2007 Australian Open final, and she also umpired the 2007 men's Roland Garros final.

I wanted to get a photograph of de Jenken at this year's Family Circle Cup, but just as I went to take it, she descended from the umpire's chair. Now we will be lucky to get a glimpse of her when we watch the French Open on television, for she will be the person in charge.

Update on de Jenken

A couple of months ago, I reported on a rumor that umpire Sandra de Jenken had switched over the ATP. Apparently, that rumor has no basis: I saw her calling the Stuttgart semifinal match between Justine Henin and Jelena Jankovic. And she made an uncharacteristic bad call, too, after Henin challenged an out call on what she thought was a good first serve. Jankovic's racquet touched the ball, making it a let, but de Jenken called it as an ace.

Notice anyone missing?

Sandra de Jenken, probably the only chair umpire with a fan base, hasn't been around much since Wimbledon. I'm told that she generally avoids the hardcourt season and shows up only for the U.S. Open, but I also hear that she has left the WTA to umpire for the ATP. Of course, she is one of the umpires with elite status that also allows her to umpire for either the ATP or the WTA in any ITF event, such as Fed Cup, Davis Cup and Grand Slam tournaments.

If de Jenken, the first woman to umpire a men's Grand Slam final, has stopped umpiring regular WTA events, it is a real loss to women's tennis. On the bright side, the move means that someone has finally noticed that a chair umpire's gender does not matter.

I tried to get a photo of de Jenken in Charleston this year but couldn't. If the news about her switch turns out to be fact, then I'll wish all the more I had gotten her picture.