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Saint George’s: John Blom should be at Wimbledon this week, umpiring some of the biggest stars in world tennis.
The Canberra resident has lost count of how many times he’s been a chair umpire at the Championships. But he knows it’s more than 25 because he has an award to show for it.
This year, he’s more than 4000 metres above the Caribbean Sea, flying from Barbados to Grenada as part of a “dream tour” with his brother, David, following the Australian men’s cricket team.
“I’m a massive cricket fan … so I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon,” Blom said while on a flight to the venue of Australia’s second Test against the West Indies, which starts on Thursday. “It didn’t matter what else was on – we were going to drop everything and come.”
That’s a big call from one of the most recognisable umpires on the tennis tour — a man whose travel itinerary would make even the most seasoned globetrotter jealous. Blom is just one of two Australians with an umpiring “gold badge” – the highest rating for officials in professional tennis.
In 12 months, Blom will umpire in India, Taipei, Seoul, Busan, Japan, the United States, Tunisia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sweden, Croatia, Portugal, the United Kingdom and France. Possibly more. He’s not entirely sure.
Australian tennis umpire John Blom with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“I’m probably travelling half the year,” he said.
Blom first officiated at the Australian Open in 1995 as a line umpire and estimates he’s umpired five grand slam singles finals, including a five-set epic in 2022 between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. In total, it’s around 100 grand slams — including about 20 French Opens and 20 US Opens.
In 2023, a video of Blom went viral when he politely asked spectators at Wimbledon to stop popping champagne bottles while players were serving.
He also once told Frenchman Elliot Benchetrit to peel his own banana after asking a ballgirl to do so.
Martina Navratilova retweeted a video of the incident, writing: “What’s next – grapes? John did the right thing, that’s for sure.”
But Blom’s idea of a good time is sitting in the stands at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, drinking rum with fans and watching Australia’s cricketers.
Coincidentally, Blom stayed at Australia’s team hotel in Islamabad during their 2022 Test tour when he happened to be umpiring a Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
He has since travelled to India and New Zealand to watch Australia play, and plans to be in South Africa next year for the team’s first Test tour since Sandpapergate in 2018.
Tennis umpire John Blom in the stands at Kensington Oval to watch Australia take on the West Indies.
“I’m surrounded by the world’s top tennis players but I get a bit nervous around the Australian cricket team,” Blom said. “When I see them at the team hotel, I’m a bit of a fanboy.
“It’s my favourite sport. Much better than tennis. I grew up watching cricket in the ’80s and ’90s and it was just such a golden era that crystallised my love for cricket.”
Blom enjoying the slower pace of the Caribbean with his brother, David.
The interview is momentarily interrupted by a flight attendant announcing that the descent into Grenada is two minutes away.
“We’ll get a fair view of the islands of the Grenadines out the right window,” she says over the PA. “The temperature is 30 degrees at the airport.”
Blom smiles and continues. “It seemed like there were almost more Australians than locals in the crowd in Barbados.”
There’s time for a few rapid-fire questions before landing.
Favourite player to watch?
Umpire John Blom and world No.1 Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open.
“Every official loved watching Roger Federer play. He had such a unique style. He was pretty easy-going and didn’t complain too much.”
Best match to umpire?
“Nadal and Medvedev in 2022 (Nadal won 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted five hours and 24 minutes). It was an incredible experience. It finished at 2am but I was still buzzing at 6am.”
Is it the dream job?
“I think it is. It’s like any job that has its issues, right? No one loves their job all the time. You do have some wonderful memories and experiences that you wouldn’t get doing watching tennis as a spectator. Wimbledon is my favourite but the US Open has grown on me.”
John Blom umpiring at Wimbledon.
Something people don’t know about umpiring?
“A lot of people think that having good eyesight is the most important thing. It’s far and away not. You have to have the ability to communicate well and defuse situations before they get out of hand. If you make a big enough mistake, any player is going to go nuts.”
Blom says there’s one question he gets asked more than any: whether he’s allowed to go to the toilet during a match.
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“The answer is yes,” he says with a laugh. “But you don’t do it at 6-6 in a tiebreak. You go quickly at a set break. I’ve probably done it once in 20 years.”
Blom has no regrets missing Wimbledon. With Test cricket potentially splitting into two tiers, this might be Australia’s last full tour of the Caribbean.
“It really is the dream tour,” he said.
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