Alan mills wiki

English tennis player and referee (–)

Alan Ronald MillsCBE (6 November – 18 January ) was an English tennis player and tournament referee for the Wimbledon tennis championships from to Although each individual tennis match was controlled by an on-court umpire, Alan Mills ran the entire tournament.

Alan mills wiki

However, perhaps he was most well known because the decision to stop play in the event of rain was that of Mills, and so his face was familiar to millions of television viewers worldwide, in the corner of Centre Court, clutching his two-way radio and glancing upwards at the sky in search of rainclouds.

Tennis career

Mills was himself an accomplished tennis player. At the age of 17 he was the senior county champion in his home county of Lancashire, and he reached the last 16 in the men's singles at Wimbledon on two occasions.

Partnering compatriot Mark Cox he reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon doubles event. Mills was also the first man in the history of