Donna Kelso

Donna Kelso has been involved in tennis as an official for more than 35 years.

Starting as a line umpire in Sydney at age 16, she progressed through national, then international officiating pathways to attain the highest level of International Certification – Gold Badge Chair Umpire, Chief Umpire and Referee simultaneously.

At the peak of her on court career she was one of only 2 female Gold Badge Chair Umpires in the world.
During this time some of the highlights of Donna’s career as a Chair Umpire included 6 Grand Slam Women’s Singles Finals (5 x Australian Open and 1 x US Open), 3 Fed Cup Finals and the Gold Medal Women’s Singles match at the Atlanta Olympics.

Since transitioning off court in 1998 to the role of WTA / Grand Slam Supervisor, Donna continues to be involved in officiating, being the final on site authority on rules and decisions at WTA Tournaments and working closely with athletes, coaches, broadcast, sponsors, Tournament organisers and of course officials.

Donna has worked 108 Grand Slams, 4 Olympics Games and countless other tennis events all over the world. Her focus and passion in recent years includes mentoring the next generation of officials, players and WTA staff as well as being Tournament Director of WTA Future Stars, a global event comprised of on and off court educational experiences to empower the next generation of female athletes and leaders. Recently Donna was names Director of WTA University, an online educational platform providing courses to WTA Players, Tournaments, Staff, Coaches and other stakeholders.