Posted at 7:00 a.m.
No need to see it. From the first call, we know that he is in service.
Tennis fans recognize Kader Nouni’s voice instantly. This low, serious voice, often associated with that of Barry White in the media, even in montages designed by amateurs.
« J’en ai vu un ou deux, je crois, admet l’arbitre français, en entretien vidéo avec La Presse, à la mi-janvier. En plus, je suis fan de lui, j’aime sa musique. »
S’il ne semble pas convaincu de la parenté entre son timbre et celui du célèbre chanteur américain – il n’en a pas la prétention, du moins –, Nouni assure ne pas être las de se faire parler de sa voix, bien que cela lui colle à la peau depuis des lustres. Ayant rejoint la WTA en 2008, il est le membre le plus ancien de l’équipe actuelle des arbitres de chaise du circuit.
« Qu’on parle d’arbitres sans qu’il y ait de problème, c’est une bonne chose déjà. Ensuite, cette voix, ça fait partie de moi », indique l’officiel, aussi décontracté assis dans son salon que juché sur le court central.
On a la voix qu’on a, en effet, cela va de soi. N’empêche, difficile de ne pas le soupçonner de jouer un peu avec cette marque de commerce…
« Sur le moment, je ne me pose pas la question, rétorque Nouni. Déjà, à la base, on dit aux jeunes quand ils commencent l’arbitrage qu’on n’annonce pas le premier point comme le dernier point. Le premier jeu du match, on ne va pas l’annoncer de la même façon qu’à 5-4 au cinquième set. Moi, c’est comme ça que j’ai appris, donc c’est comme ça que je fais.
« Ensuite, il y en a qui sont toujours linéaires et qui eux, par contre, vont arbitrer de la même façon du premier au dernier point. Moi, ce n’est pas mon truc. Chacun a sa personnalité, la mienne a été effectivement de suivre un petit peu le fil du match. »
Je ne dirais pas que j’en joue, mais j’aime bien coller au moment. On peut dire ça comme ça. J’aime bien quand la voix colle à ce qui se passe.
Kader Nouni
En quelque sorte la philosophie de l’arbitre qui, jusqu’à un certain point, fait partie du spectacle. Par opposition à celle qui prône plutôt que l’officiel doive s’effacer au maximum.
Il rit. « Si je te dis que j’ai envie d’être effacé, tu vas me dire : “Kader, ce n’est pas possible !” À l’époque, on me remarquait parce que j’avais l’afro et la voix. Aujourd’hui, je perds mes cheveux, mais j’ai la barbe et j’ai toujours la voix ! J’essaie de prendre du plaisir. Après, effectivement, les gens peuvent se dire : “Il en fait un peu trop, il joue un peu trop.” Mais le plus important, c’est qu’au final, je fasse un bon job. Si, en plus, les gens prennent du plaisir avec ça, why not ? »
La fin des juges de ligne
Kader Nouni, né à Perpignan, en France, de parents d’origine algérienne, s’est intéressé au tennis en bas âge. Dans le sillage de son frère aîné, en fait.
« Il a vu Yannick Noah gagner Roland-Garros [en 1983], then he wanted to play tennis,” says the referee. The brother, Miloud, was then 11 years old, he was 7.
In the late 1980s, early 1990s, tennis was very expensive, says Nouni. However, his club was looking for referees for the local tournament. This is how he got his foot in the business. To pay for his tennis lessons.
I was very young. I was 12, 13 when I got on a referee’s chair.
Kader Nouni
“At the time, we refereed in club tournaments and in team tournaments, for example, continues the 45-year-old Frenchman. And if we ever refereed several times in the league during the year, we could apply to go to Roland-Garros. So many do that. Many Roland-Garros linesmen are already referees in their club. »
This poses the problem of the next generation of referees in professional tennis. The potential problem, at least. Since, as we know, linesmen tend to disappear in favor of exclusively electronic appeals.
“So far, it’s fine. But, actually, it’s a bit complicated because whoever says end of line judges, says difficult to find referees, in the end. We all start out as linesmen. We pass on a chair and we only do the chair? No. That was it then, but not anymore. When I started, you had to be a linesman first, and then you made the chairs. »
Although he refereed very young locally, Kader Nouni therefore also made his mark as a linesman. At his first Roland-Garros in this role, he was only 16 years old…
So what does he think of their gradual disappearance?
“Apparently it’s the future, you can’t fight too much,” he laughs. To err is human, so we’re supposed to have less. And the players seem to be a little calmer since the machine has the last word. »
Obviously, this machine is not absolutely infallible. But, it is undeniable, the Hawk Eye technology is less often mistaken than the human eye.
A plus for call reliability. That said, with the disappearance of the linesmen also disappears the teamwork, the human contact.
“Ah, of course, it’s not the same thing. When you referee on a field where there are no linesmen and you are all alone, it is not funky », Illustrates Nouni.
But he won’t go so far as to say that this development somehow makes the job of chair umpire more boring.
Let’s say different. As always, it’s a matter of habit. At first, it’s weird, then in the end, you get used to it. We’ll get used to it.
Kader Nouni, on the disappearance of line judges
Due to the nature of the surface, the last Gauls will obviously be the leaders of clay-court tournaments. Roland-Garros in the lead. Kader Nouni himself would have benefited from the presence of an electronic appeal system, as he was at the center of controversy over the very last point of the most recent Parisian Grand Slam women’s final.
But the standardization of the use of electronics on all surfaces is probably only a matter of time.
“I can’t read into the future, but in any case, we are taking the direction of it,” he observes.
“A crazy atmosphere”
Kader Nouni obtained his first international rank in his early twenties. Tournaments, matches, he made thousands.
He likes some tournaments for the atmosphere, others for the city, or even the conditions.
Recently, he particularly enjoyed the WTA Finals played last November in Guadalajara, Mexico. More than a year and a half into the pandemic, reconnecting with an enthusiastic audience has been more than welcome.
It was a crazy atmosphere. It was good for everyone.
Kader Nouni, on the return of spectators to the stands, during the WTA Finals
In January, Nouni allows himself a family break for a few years, hence his absence in Australia.
At the end of the interview, we tried to extract an anecdote from him involving a player – retired, of course. In vain.
“Because I am still active. Not to mention that retirees, it can come back to the game…”, he justifies.
So he won’t go there. Not at the moment.
“When I stop my refereeing career, I will throw names! »