Ben Carter gets a chair at Australian Open tennis

Newly qualified international tennis chair umpire Ben Carter, of Camden Park, has one of the most enviable jobs in the world.

NEWLY qualified international tennis chair umpire Ben Carter, of Camden Park, has one of the most enviable jobs in the world.

The Camden High School physical education teacher will go from teaching students to having the best seat in the house at the Australian Open and keeping a close eye on the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Of course, he has to make tough split second decisions, but the 25-year-old also gets to observe the world's best tennis players in the first grand slam of the year in Melbourne this month.

In preparation, he has been honing his umpiring skills at the Sydney International lead-up tournament at Homebush.

It will be Carter's fourth Australian Open but his first as a chair umpire.

"There's more responsibility; I prefer to be the chair umpire as opposed to the line umpire because you call all the lines not just one," he said.

His five years experience also helps him deal with players as they sometimes vent their frustration at the umpires.

"Sometimes you cop a bit but it is the way you deal with players using the skills and techniques we have learnt," he said.

"Dealing with players can be difficult because all players deal with things differently."

Although limited to mostly domestic tournaments and having to squeeze in umpiring on the weekends in between teaching at Camden High School, Carter has ambitions to one day become a full-time umpire on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour and the Womens Tennis Association tours.

"It's something I'm looking towards in the future," he said.

"There is definitely an opportunity there."