Novak Djokovic celebrates Olympic gold with his daughter Tara. Photo by Manuel Fernandez Vidal (ITF)

The best tennis images of the year have been in the mix for the annual ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year, with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz among those taking centre stage.

The winners and losers of an epic tennis year are now etched into the history books, with German photographer Frank Molter winning one of the final big prizes of the tennis year as his iconic image of wheelchair tennis star Tokito Oda was selected as the best in tennis over the last 12 months.

18-year-old Oda clinched the men’s singles title at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis event in August by beating Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett in a thrilling three-set match in front of a capacity crowd at Roland Garros.

In celebrating his victory, Oda removed the wheels from his chair and lay in tears on the court – a moment captured by this year’s winning photographer, claming the top prize of $3,000.

“It feels unreal. I never thought I would have a chance to win,” said Molter.

“I thought Oda might fall on his back if he won, but the fact that he dismantled his wheelchair blew my mind. What wows me the most the fact that a photo of a wheelchair tennis player has taken the crown.

“This is also a huge recognition for athletes with disabilities who invest so much in their sport and I hope my photo can increase the attention on the sport.”

In second place was amateur French photographer Agathe Monier’s image of Rafael Nadal leaving Court Philippe Chatrier during his final Grand Slam appearance at Roland Garros. Agathe Monier wins $1,000.

The third-place image was taken by Fiona Hamilton (Australia) who wins $500. It shows a smiling young child crawling under a net at the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival held in Darwin, Australia in August.

The winners and top 10 shortlist were agreed upon by the judging panel of ITF President David Haggerty, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and tennis photographer Paul Zimmer.

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Other shortlisted images depict a range of tennis activity from across the world, from Christopher Bulus’s euphoric celebrations after leading Nigeria to victory over Zimbabwe in Davis Cup Africa Group III in July, to Novak Djokovic celebrating his Olympic men’s singles gold medal with his family.

“I was really impressed by the quality of photos that were submitted and it was very difficult to choose the shortlist,” said former Wimbledon champion and judge Muguruza.

“The winning image of Tokito Oda represents the effort, dedication and commitment of tennis players across the world. It is a truly touching image and a worthy winner.

“The photo of Rafa, in such a special year, was essential and the third place image of the smiling child was the perfect reflection of all things positive in our sport. Thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition.”

Tennis photographers are among the most travelled in all sports, with the rolling nature of the world tour seeing them travel around the world and clock up plenty of miles in the hope of capturing one or two iconic images.

We will be looking at some of the other entries in the ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year over the coming days.

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