by Few roles are more prestigious in the world of tennis than that of the Wimbledon referee. Alan Mills, who has died aged 88, held the post for 23 years, from 1983 to 2005.
If this suggests a career in sailing smooth seas, the impression would be false. To be the final referee during two weeks of fierce sporting competition under the full global spotlight would, rightly, suggest a more turbulent job. Throw in personalities imbued with the talent and spirit of John McEnroe, Ilie Năstase, Boris Becker and others with the same amount of nameless ambition, and it is clear that one’s own special qualities are needed to keep the Champions from crushing.
“But he did this with a calming effect of his own,” said Jim Courier, the four-time Grand Slam champion and Wimbledon competitor who, as he freely admits, was not the easiest player to deal with. “The referees at major championships work in this non-stop atmosphere where players and agents react explosively to win or lose … Among the referees I know, Alan was the best.”
Mills earned the moniker “Rain Man”, for the sight of him, walkie-talkie in hand, sometimes in the shade, scanning the skies from his corner of Wimbledon’s Center Court before deciding whether the conditions were suitable to “play”. on him. With his slightly ironic smile, Mills would say: “I’m the spoiled brat in the green suit.”
The meteorology assignment, with fingers like rackets in the locker room, was not without stress. But Mills rarely showed it even as he faced the daunting problem of calming down a white-hot McEnroe after world-famously uttering the catchphrase “You can’t be serious” while talking about Wimbledon referee Ted James. Mills also landed the unhappy task of failing a young Tim Henman in 1995, after the British player hit a ball girl against England with an uncontrolled swing at a ball.
Apart from being responsible for the order of play, and supervising the court officials or referees, the referee’s job includes many tasks, including looking after the welfare of the players.
Bill Norris, ATP Tour physio for over 30 years, spoke enthusiastically about what he learned from Mills. “We had a long discussion about how to handle the medical leave time, the best rest requirement so players could give their best and the little details that the public doesn’t hear about. He was always available, always pleasant and considerate.”
Mills was born in the Lancashire town of Stretford. His father was a railway controller, and his mother a railway clerk. After the family moved to Formby, Merseyside, Alan went to Waterloo grammar school, near Liverpool, leaving aged 16 to become an apprentice electrical engineer.
He started playing tennis at a young age, and was already the county champion when he joined the RAF for his national service – and soon won the RAF Tennis Championship.
When he joined the amateur circuit, he found the competition tough, as Britain had great players at the time, such as Mike Davies, Billy Knight and Bobby Wilson. His presence limited his Davis Cup chances, but he was on the teams that took Britain to the semi-finals in 1959, 1961 and 1964.
It was in that first year of 1959, in the southern Luxembourg spa town of Mondorf-les-Bains, that Mills achieved something unique at that time in Davis Cup history – he won the singles rubber 6-0, 6-0, 6- 0 in 34 minutes. His unfortunate opponent was Luxembourg’s best player, Joseph Offenheim.
Although lacking the swagger necessary to win major titles, Mills reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1959, and in a doubles with Mark Cox, the semi-finals in 1966. Overall, Mills ended his career with the impressive record of winning 31 titles. and a 324 to 178 win/loss record.
He turned professional, working as a tennis player in a hotel in the Bahamas, then at a tennis club in Ohio, before coaching for a year at Millfield school in Somerset, and in Wales. In 1977 he was appointed assistant referee at Wimbledon.
Mills took the top job in 1983, but did not limit his refereeing skills to Wimbledon. He answered the call of the American Butch Buchholz to lead a major event, originally called the Lipton, now the Miami Open, which Buchholz created in 1985 in order to make it the fifth largest in the world, was one of the few. includes major attractions for both men and women.
“I didn’t think of anyone else when I looked at refereeing,” Buchholz said. “We went through several storms with tents blown down and schedules ruined, but Alan handled them all with aplomb.” Mills stayed with the event until 1993.
A year after his retirement, in 2005, the Lancastrian was appointed CBE to accompany his MBE. His memoir, Lifting the Covers, was published in 2005.
In 1960, Mills married English tennis champion Jill Rook. She is survived by her and their children, Barry and Penny.
• Alan Mills, referee and tennis player, born 6 November 1935; he died 18 January 2024
