Ali Nili (Persian: علی نیلی ,born 26 May 1978) is an Iranian-American tennis official who has a gold badge chair umpire certified by the International Tennis Federation.[1][2][3]
Ali Nili | |
|---|---|
| علی نیلی | |
 | |
| Born | May 26, 1978 |
| Nationality | Iranian-American |
| Occupation(s) | Senior Director, Officiating Administration |
| Years active | 1998-present |
| Organization | ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) |
In 2008, he became the first Asian tennis chair umpire to attain the esteemed Gold Badge chair umpire certification (one of 26 in the world), certified by the joint certification panel of ITF/ATP/WTA/GS.[4][5][6][7]
Noteworthy matches he chaired include the 2015 Wimbledon men's singles finals featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic,[8] the 2016 US Open men's singles finals between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka,[9] and the 2019 US Open men's singles finals featuring Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev.[10] Ali also umpired two ATP year-end singles finals in 2018 and 2019, the latter being his last match as a chair umpire.[11][12][13]
He retired as chair umpire in 2019 and transitioned into an ATP supervisor and currently managing the ATP chair umpires and supervisors.[14][15]
Early life
editNili was born in 1978 in Tehran, Iran. He played competitive tennis as a junior and was ranked in the top 20 juniors in Iran. While pursuing a Mechanical Engineering degree at Tehran Azad University, he intermittently resided in the US.[5][16]
Career
editNili's journey in tennis officiating began in 1997 when he assisted in organizing the West Asian Games in Tehran supervised by ITF referee, Hany El Khafief from Dubai. Hany invited Nili as a line umpire to work at the Dubai Open the following year, marking the start of his officiating career. In November 1998, he obtained his White badge in Tunisia, leading to his full-time officiating role from 1999. Over the years, he achieved successive milestones, obtaining his Bronze badge three years later, followed by the Silver badge in 2006.[5]
He achieved Gold badge status in 2008, marking him as the first Gold badge chair umpire from Asia. Nili's portfolio encompasses high-profiles matches, at both Grand Slam and ATP tournaments, as well as the Rio 2016 summer Olympics.[17] He retired as a chair umpire in 2019, transitioning into a senior officiating administrator role.
Awards
editIn 2017, Nili received the US John T. McGovern Umpires Award from the United States Tennis Association for outstanding contribution to tennis officiating. [6]
In a piece, appeared on the US Open website on September 4, Iran's Nili is described as the one 'has continually worked his way up through events, delivering the highest quality of officiating and serving as a role model to his colleagues.[6]
References
edit- ^ "ATP Chair Umpire Ali Nili (left) also manages data distribution and scoring systems for the tour (Credit: Carine/Wikimedia Commons)". NS Business. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "Iranian referee wins intl gold badge chair umpire". en.irna.ir. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "Ali Nili has the last word". gulfnews.com. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "Iranian tennis umpire wins John T. McGovern Award". Mehr News Agency. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ a b c "Ali Nili has the last word". gulfnews.com. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ a b c "Umpires recognized by the US Open".
- ^ "'Poor form': Anger over 'ridiculous' moment in US Open trophy presentation". Yahoo Sports. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ "The Latest: Ali Nili will be chair umpire in Wimbledon final". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ Briggs, Simon; Graham, Chris (2016-09-11). "Stan Wawrinka battles back to win US Open men's final against Novak Djokovic in four sets". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ "Nadal wins US Open after thrilling win over Medvedev - radio & text". BBC Sport. 2019-09-08. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
- ^ تنیسفا, تحریریه (2019-11-18). "خداحافظی علی نیلی با صندلی قضاوت". تنیسفا (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ "Time please: Ali Nili urges UAE residents to stay safe". gulfnews.com. 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ "داور ایرانی تنیس نشان طلای داوری جهان را به دست آورد". www.irna.ir. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ^ Ralston, William (2022-07-07). "'You can't be the player's friend': inside the secret world of tennis umpires". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ "ATP Media Guide | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ "Magiran | روزنامه شرق (1393/02/30): "علی نیلی" داور نشان طلایی تنیس جهان:"انقلاب" از زیباترین استادیوم های دنیا ست". www.magiran.com. Retrieved 2023-08-18.
- ^ "دو داور تنیس ایران در بازیهای المپیك 2016 ریو قضاوت می كنند". www.irna.ir. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
