On 23 January 2002, she became the first woman ever to referee at a professional ranking snooker tournament when she took charge of a first-round match between Ken Doherty and James Wattana at the 2002 Welsh Open held in Newport. The following year, she made her World Snooker Championship debut at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, refereeing a first-round match between Mark King and Drew Henry. Later that year in July 2003, dwindling sponsorship revenue forced the WPBSA to cut its number of tournament referees from ten to eight. Tabb's contract, along with that of Dutch referee Johan Oomen, was terminated on a last in, first out basis, threatening her future in the sport. However, the WPBSA soon reversed its decision to dismiss Tabb and she signed a new contract in September 2003.