Woodruff - The Northwoods has its own tennis ace. Joyce Tessiatore of Woodruff has seen the sports biggest stars up close. Joyce named a few of the players she's been on court with over the years.

"Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Hingis, Clijsters, Henin, Venus, Serena and Sharapova to name a few," says Joyce Tessiatore.

Tessiatore is a professional tennis official. She's worked on courts all over the United States and Japan. "I actually started as an official ten years ago, says Tessiatore, a former Lakeland High School tennis coach. "I was a high school coach and my team went to the State Tournament and I found out there were some rules I didn't know so I went to an umpire school to learn the rules and then I decided to start umpiring."

Joyce's husband of 40 years Tom has watched his wife serve up success in the sport of tennis.

"It's the dream that everybody has, says Tom Tessiatore, Joyce's husband. "I mean how can you not want to be 15 feet away from Nadal and all of these guys. It's like being a referee at the Super Bowl."

Joyce is the head tennis official in Wisconsin and has worked both the boys and girls state tournaments. In 2007 she sent an application to work the U.S. Open and was accepted to patrol the baseline at America's most prestigious tournament.

"A friend called me and said congratulations and I said don't tease a dumb animal, says Joyce. "He said no, you're going to the (U.S.)Open, you're on the list."

This year Joyce will again work alongside the greatest tennis players on earth when the United States Open gets underway at the end of August in New York, but her job isn't to keep an eye on the athletes, just the ball.

Joyce-"It's not that it doesn't matter and we do enjoy good points. But when you're an umpire you are an umpire. You're watching one line. You're doing that job. It's like when you're a coach you coach. When I'm a roving umpire or a chair umpire I'm impartial just controlling the match and not really paying attention to great points or great shots or technique."

Tom-"She doesn't get to see the match as much as you do sitting in the stands. She focuses on a certain thing and I'll say did you see (this)? And she'll say no I was watching the lines. So, actually when you say she's 15 feet from everybody in the middle of a match she doesn't get to see a whole lot of the match. The people in the stands get a better view."

The Woodruff resident has taken advantage of her opportunities despite living hundreds of miles away from the closest pro tennis events.

Joyce-"I have to work a little harder than some people because they have their circuit events right there. If I lived in Dallas, there's so much going on there. It's a little bit easier but anybody can."

Click on the link below to watch the Joyce Tessiatore story which aired on Newswatch 12.

Joyce Tessiatore Story