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The Audio Long Read

From the archive: ‘You can’t be the player’s friend’: inside the secret world of tennis umpires

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2022: new technology was supposed to make umpiring easy. It hasn’t worked out that way By William Ralston. Read by Simon Vance. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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20 years ago on July 7th, 2005, the 7-7 bombings rocked London.

0:47.9

It changed the way Londoners looked at their city.

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I actually encountered three of the perpetrators of 7-7 in late 2002.

0:56.2

I'm Thomas Small, the co-host of Conflicted. In this special documentary series,

1:00.9

we'll tell you the story of 7-7 as you've never heard it before from the inside.

1:06.7

Search 7-7 the inside, wherever you get your podcasts.

1:15.4

The Guardian Archive Long Read.

1:26.7

Hi, my name's William Ralston, and I'm the author of You Can't Be the Player's Friend

1:31.3

Inside the Secret World of Tennis umpires, published by the Guardian Long Read in July 2022.

1:39.1

I've always been a tennis fan. I played it when I was younger and I've been watching it avidly

1:43.4

over the past two decades

1:45.5

or so. And a part of the game that I took a greater interest in at the beginning of 2022 was the chair

1:51.8

umpiring to try and improve the officiating the sport. The authorities introduced Hawkeye line calling

1:58.1

technology, which appeared or people hoped, I guess, would remove all the

...

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