Ronnie O'Sullivan's favourite ref comments as World Snooker Champs final ref retires
Ronnie O'Sullivan's favourite ref comments as World Snooker Champs final ref retires
Top snooker referee Tatiana Woollaston was among those that praised Michaela Tabb's impact on the sport after the legendary official retired from the Crucible on Sunday
Legendary snooker referee Michaela Tabb has retired from the traditional format
(Image: Getty )
Ronnie O'Sullivan's favourite referee - Tatiana Woollaston - has paid tribute to a trailblazing female official who recently retired from traditional snooker.
Michaela Tabb, 57, waved goodbye to the Crucible Theatre after officiating the first five frames of the World Seniors Snooker Tour final between Alfie Burden and Aaron Canavan on Sunday.
Tabb made history by being the first woman to referee at a world ranking tournament, before becoming the first female to officiate a World Championship final at the Crucible in 2009. The Somerset-born Scot also officiated the 2012 final, having been fast-tracked by the snooker authorities and made her debut on the ranking circuit back in 2002.
She paved the way for a new wave of female referees in snooker, highlighting the younger generation's rise as a reason for her being able to now step back.
And while Tabb will still referee the Snooker Legends 900, several well-known figures across the game have spoken about her enormous influence in recent days.
One such individual is Woollaston, now one of the top officials in the game. The Belarusian, who is the wife of Tour professional and recent World Championship participant Ben Woollaston, took to social media to voice her appreciation after Tabb's retirement announcement.
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She wrote on X: 'For all women, which now have an opportunity to get involved in the sport they love, there had to be THE FIRST and that was Michaela Tabb. Inspiration, history maker and an amazing person! Thank you and enjoy the retirement!'
Tabb had said before her last final in Sheffield: 'I'm excited to hang up my gloves if I'm being honest, for traditional snooker. I think I've done my time.
"I'm getting to an age where it would be nice to watch other people doing that, especially after seeing another female coming up now and refereeing the final at the main World Championships.
"It's been like 15 years that we've been waiting for that to sort of happen. So I'm happy now to let the young guns do it.
'I will still work with Snooker Legends and I'll still do the 900 but for traditional snooker, my day will be finished. I feel emotional even just talking about it to be honest. Honestly, it could make me cry, and I was so lucky to have two finals and so many other matches as well.'
Tatiana Woollaston called Tabb an "inspiration"
(Image: Richard Sellers/PA Wire )
Woollaston, meanwhile, made her own Crucible debut at the Covid-affected 2020 tournament. At the 2024 World Championship, the 38-year-old oversaw a single-table Crucible match for the first time - the semi-final between Kyren Wilson and David Gilbert.
Earlier this season, she took charge of a Triple Crown final for the first time by officiating Judd Trump versus Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship in York. The mother-of-two followed up the milestone the next day by working her day job as a merchandiser for Next.
Tatiana's own refereeing ability has made her a favourite of seven-time world champion O'Sullivan, who once labelled her the 'best ref in the world by a mile'.
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The official fell in love with the sport as a youngster while watching Russian language Eurosport with her father.
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