Iconic Flushing Meadows Proved A Thrilling Venue For Linda Schaffer’s On-Court Referee Evaluation

By Alex Abrams
Red Line Editorial

Linda Schaffer felt both anxious and excited on May 25 as she sat courtside inside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York.

Schaffer’s husband plays tennis, so she knows the significance of Flushing Meadows. It’s the home of the U.S. Open and Arthur Ashe Stadium, but the 65-year-old retired businesswoman had another reason to feel overwhelmed late last month.

Schaffer had spent several years studying to become a certified pickleball referee, and she had picked the historic tennis site as the place where she’d attempt to earn the highest credential available to a pickleball referee.

An evaluator would closely watch Schaffer and scrutinize all her calls as she officiated matches during the APP New York City Open. She was about to be tested on such a large stage, and it made for unusual evaluation.

“When you get to the point that you’re assigned your evaluation day and the day shows up, it is pressure enough,” said Vicki Ryan, a USA Pickleball certified referee evaluator who evaluated Schaffer. “And then when you’re showing up in New York City, at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center, that’s pretty special.”

Schaffer, who’s commonly known by her nickname “Pinki,” admitted the evaluation process to become a certified pickleball referee was nerve-racking.

There was a lot of buildup to the day of her evaluation at the New York City Open, but she wasn’t necessarily nervous about being watched under the bright lights at Flushing Meadows. She instead said she wanted to do well for personal reasons.

“(Becoming a pickleball referee), it’s the first new thing that I have experienced in many years. I mean, all your working life, you kind of go on your way, and you know what you’re doing,” Schaffer said. “You spend many years doing a lot of the same things, so this was a humbling world to me. So there was excitement about being tested at this level with all these people around.”

As it turned out, Schaffer passed her test.

She officiated three matches at Flushing Meadows, including a gold-medal match. After each match, Ryan sat down with Schaffer and gave her feedback on things she did well and areas that she could work on as a referee.

Schaffer then went through an approximately one-hour interview in which Ryan quizzed her on everything from pickleball rules to the scoring during a match. A few minutes later, Schaffer found out that she had earned her certification.

She’s now qualified to officiate any type of pickleball match, from an amateur match in her neighborhood to a big-time professional match that’s live-streamed online.

“This referee community is amazing. Everybody is supportive and helpful and kind to our other referees,” Schaffer said. “And it’s almost like if one person in your group is certified, then you all just got recertified.”

Schaffer said she had never played any sports until she was introduced to pickleball while visiting Key West, Florida, with her husband. They became curious when they saw some people playing pickleball, and they decided to order a couple of paddles and balls online.

Schaffer and her husband showed up one day at a pickleball court in Key West, wanting to learn how to play the sport.

“Some people were showing us what to do, and we went online to read the rules and just became interested in it and loved it,” Schaffer said. “(We) got addicted to it.”

Schaffer had never served as a referee before, but she liked the idea of officiating pickleball matches. It would give her the opportunity to be around the game, even when she wasn’t playing.

“I just got interested in being a referee because it was another way to be involved with pickleball without playing pickleball 24/7,” Schaffer said, laughing. “You know, I am at retirement age. I’m 65 now. I started playing pickleball when I was like 62 or 61. 

“And I just felt like it was something new that I could learn. I like to learn new things and try new things, and so this was interesting to me.”

Ryan said she’s one of nine evaluators spread throughout North America, with all but one of them located in the United States. One evaluator is in Canada, and each evaluator typically evaluates six to eight certified pickleball referee candidates per year.

Ryan said all the top referees remember where they were certified. She earned her certification at the 2020 USAPA Southwest Regionals in Surprise, Arizona, and it was such a special occasion for her that she still remembers the date — Jan. 9.

Ryan said she could only imagine what Schaffer was feeling while getting evaluated at such an iconic site as Flushing Meadows.

“The pressure on the evaluation is enough. To be at that venue with that background would be something,” Ryan said. “… I was there last year. I did not take a tour of Arthur Ashe Stadium. This year I will take a tour of Arthur Ashe Stadium. But as far as being there, that is just a historic complex.”

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.