WASHINGTON, December 29, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
In the world of tennis, like most sports, hundreds of thousands of photographs are snapped each season. Many are memorable. Maybe, a few might even leave a lasting impression on fans – even players. After all, a tennis match is filled with bursts of action and lends itself well to all kinds of candid photos, from the dramatic to the sublime.
So, when a whimsical image of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini as seen through the strings of her tennis racquet during her first-round match at this year’s US Open was published, taken by veteran sports photographer Ray Giubilo, it captured the diminutive and charismatic tennis star in a perfectly-timed, if not comedic, moment. It certainly caught my attention – and it lit up Instagram, too!
Indeed, every photograph has the potential to tell a great story – whether through the art of patience or a moment of creativity – and this one of the No. 7 seed Paolini against qualifier Destanee Aiava of Australia on Opening Night of the US Open inside Louis Armstrong Stadium was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that spoke volumes.
It should come as little surprise, then, that the steady-handed Giubilo’s stunning photograph of Paolini was recently named the 2025 ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year.
One of the best sporting photographs of the year!
Jasmine Paolini signed Ray Giubilo’s book, which features the iconic image taken of her at the US Open ✍️ pic.twitter.com/aDehWTbV3w
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) November 13, 2025
Just how did the Australian-born Giubilo, who moved to Italy at age 7 and later returned to Australia in the late 1980s to open a photography studio in Sydney, capture such a memorable photograph – one that resonated with so many fans? Well, he shot it with his Nikon Z9 from a court side position beneath Paolini’s player box. Giubilo captured the Italian No. 1 changing direction mid-rally, resulting in her face being perfectly framed by the oval of her tennis racquet. Look closely, and you’ll notice that Paolini’s eyes, nose and mouth are aligned within the circles and triangle of the Yonex logo on the strings.
“It just happened, it’s one of those things you cannot explain. It’s impossible to reproduce,” said Giubilo, quoted in interviews, after his camera candidly caught Paolini in the nick of time.
— TENNISMEDIA (@luciahoff) August 29, 2025
In a recently published Q & A with Tennis In Photographs, Giubilo went into greater detail about how he managed to garner his iconic and, now, award-winning image of Paolini.
“It was an evening match, and I needed some close-ups of Jasmine,” Giubilo recalled. “She was on the other side of the court, and I could only get action shots when she passed between the net post and TV camera. I started following her ‘through the lens’ and snapped some pictures as she ran for forehands. She then made an unusual movement with her racquet, and I took three shots. The fact that her eyes perfected aligned with the circles of the racquet logo was a happy coincidence. I could try a million times and I would never be able to take same photo again. I can only take credit for focusing and believing I could get a decent photograph.”
Giubilo added: “It was a stoke of luck. When I first saw the photo in the camera, I knew that it was a good photograph, but I didn’t realize it could be an iconic image. Then, I downloaded it on my computer, and I thought it was really funny, like a Halloween mask. That’s why I posted it on my Instagram with spooking Halloween music. When I saw the social media likes going up, I realized the importance of the shot. I felt a bit embarrassed because everyone was talking about it, and I wasn’t used to that kind of attention!”
View this post on Instagram
Soon, Giubilo’s creative and skillful image of Paolini gained widespread attention on social media. The photograph went viral.
“Maybe the picture of the year,” Paolini said in her on-court interview a few days later, after she defeated Iva Jovic in her next match. After Paolini posted the photo on her Instagram, she quipped in the photo’s comments section: “The hardest picture to capture … but it’s the easiest Halloween costume!”
Giubilo, a staff photographer at Il Tennis Italiano, started his career as a tennis photographer at the 1989 Australian Open. Since then, he’s covered more than 100 Grand Slam tournaments and more than 150 other tennis events, including Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup ties as well as ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournaments. He’s also covered many Olympic Games tennis events on behalf of the ITF. Retrospectives of his tennis photography have been shown in galleries in both London and New York. To see more of Giubilo’s work, visit his website: tennisphotographer.com.
One last thought about the Paolini photo from Giubilo: “The greatness of the photo is that it makes you laugh, even Paolini laughed. She thanked me.”
