Bernardes retires after more than thirty years as a chair umpire

Brazilian umpire Carlos Bernardes officiated his last match at the ATP Finals between Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz on Sunday.

He brings to an end a career spanning more than thirty years. Bernardes recalls: "My first experience of tennis was when I was a child in Brazil.

We used to jump over the fence at the local club to play, until we finally signed up."

In 1984, he began coaching, but soon found his way into refereeing as a linesman at a regional Billie Jean King Cup match in São Paulo.

Reconciling coaching and refereeing in South America, his success came in 1992, when he joined the ATP as a chair umpire.

The Brazilian recalls: "I started with tournaments in South America, then I was assigned to the United States. I remember one of the first tournaments in San José in 1996.

There were Sampras, Agassi and Chang. Sampras was No. 1. It was incredible. I went from playing tennis in the streets of Brazil to refereeing Sampras and Agassi."

He will have refereed over 8,000 matches and says: "It's the people I've met who stand out the most. We're away from home for half our lives, so you get attached to people and places. This year, the fans came to see me, it was wonderful."