“I was terrified the whole time”: Ex‑Wimbledon line judge reveals ‘intense’ experience of officiating Venus & Serena Williams’ clash

Ex‑Wimbledon line judge reveals ‘intense’ experience of officiating Venus & Serena Williams’ clash. Credit: GETTY

With the 2025 Wimbledon Open starting today, it’s time for a throwback to intense rivalries witnessed on the Center Court. In the late 2000s, no rivalry was more intense than the Williams sisters, and caught right in the middle of it once was former line judge Pauline Eyre, which made her “nervous” and “terrified.”

In 2009, Serena Williams and Venus Williams took the Center Court by storm with their sibling rivalry to take home the biggest Grand Slam of the year. Serena won the game in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

During a sit-down interaction with BBC Radio London’s Shay Kaur Grewal, Eyre recalled how nervous she was to be the decision-maker on several close line points on the right baseline.

“The first time I line judged Serena against Venus in this country, I had never been so nervous in my life,” Eyre said. “I was on the baseline—on the right baseline. I remember it really well. The tension was incredible, and people used to say, didn’t they? ‘Oh, they work it out between them. One will win this time.’

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“They were so, so in the moment. And I could feel that sibling rivalry. It was just the most intense, incredible experience. I was terrified the whole time. When I came off court, I was like, ‘Oh, that was amazing.’ It was—it was a massive buzz.”

Pauline Eyre reveals how officials were judged and qualified to make the line calls in the Wimbledon finals

The Wimbledon Open final is not only the biggest moment in a tennis player’s career but also for the line judges whose calls will come under scrutiny by millions catching the action. To get there is itself a big achievement, and Pauline Eyre spilled the beans on how one makes it to the Wimbledon final during the same interaction.

Eyre, who has now shifted to the comedy domain, recalled they were judged every single time they were out there and were graded out of five after the end of each match.

“If you did a good job and nothing much happened, you got a three. If you messed up, you got a two,” Eyre said. “If you messed up badly, you got a one. If you did well, you got a four. And now I’m in comedy where you get stars for your shows.

“Three, four, five stars, two stars. It’s the same kind of pressure. But that was every time you did a single shift. So you do an hour and a half on court or an hour on court, and you would be marked. And you had to keep performing and keep performing. And the people who got the best marks got selected for the finals.”

Eyre spent 20 years on the Wimbledon court calling tennis games and deciding whether the shots were in or out. She is a comedian now and performs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.