Ana Ivanivic

Perfect timing on this shot Henri. I always enjoyed watching Ana play. Great strokes and drop dead gorgeous to boot! I'm disappointed she has dropped out of the top 20 (though just barely) from a career high (albeit briefly) #1.

I have shot many an tennis tournament (and played in many myself) and one of the greatest challenges in shooting a tourney is getting adequate separation between the players and the background. Unlike many other sports, where the playing area is large, in tennis it is just the other way around. A tennis court is only 36' x 78' and you have at most 20' behind each baseline. So a wide aperture and longest lens to do the job is always a necessity. I used to shoot them with a 300mm f/4.5 lens at 5.6 or 8, and just could never get the amount of blurring I wanted. I now have a 300mm f/2.8 AIS Nikkor and it makes all the difference in the world. Close it down to f/4 and it works great. The only downside is your focus has to be spot on.

I blurred the background somewhat in PS, which gives you better separation between Ana and the line judge.

You master the timing factor here and frizzed the ball in a superb place, the feel of the action is also remarkably recorded in this well lit image and of very fine details and colors.

Thank you for sharing it and wishing you all of the best my friend.