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By Howie Burnett
(September 8, 2010) I first met Lynn Welch when we were both playing in a Pro-Am mixed doubles tournament at the beautiful York Country Club in York Maine.
My first impression was “Wow I feel like I’m playing against Bille Jean King !”. She had racket skills and movement around the court that most tennis players just dream of.
Serving and volleying- chipping and charging- a top spin lob here a feathery drop there ,she had it all!
She was a great competitor with a gentle demeanor that belied her scrappy- aggressive playing style.
We were both just kids back in the mid 70s and our careers took us on very different paths.
We have both stayed in Tennis all of our working lives, but her road has taken her to every Grand Slam tournament numerous times and those events are at the very top of the Tennis world.
After having won 3 Maine state high school Women’s singles titles as a student at South Portland High in 1972-73 and 74 ,she went on to play at national tennis power house Rollins College in Winter park Fl.
The wear and tear of Tennis and Basketball had taken its toll on Lynn by then, and although a standout talent, a career on the Women’s Pro Circuit was not to be.
Lynn returned to the Portland area after her graduation from Rollins and began her Tennis teaching career at Tennis of Maine in Falmouth Maine.
In 1989 she relocated to Hilton Head SC to teach at the world Renown Sea Pines Racket Club.
In 1991 she became involved in officiating at the Family Circle Cup and has since traveled the world 30 weeks a year bringing her calm cool presence to what can often be a very hot seat.
She has been in the chair calling the finals of many Grand Slam events and is one of Five women in the world that hold a Gold Badge Umpiring Certification from the ITF.
Look for my old friend this weekend in the Semis and Finals at the OPEN. If it wasn’t for 6 knee surgeries, she may well have been on those very same courts playing matches in a Grand Slam Event!
Howie Burnett is a 40 year, level 1 USPTA certified teaching professional. He was the owner and president of Net Advantage LCC, a tennis management service in Southern New Hampshire, 45 minutes North of Boston. He served on the USTA Clinicians Service for many years and served as a head coach of USTA area training center in New England from 1988 to 1998. He is currently the director of tennis at Island Country Club on beautiful Marco Island, FL. Howie is the author of Net Notes: Common Sense Ideas to Lift Your Game available on Amazon, as well as a contributor to Tennis Now and a correspondent for TennisCraze.com.