VCO 2019 – Day 1

Qualifying rounds are completed. The main draw has been set. And Day 1 of the Volvo Car Open was full of triumphs and defeats!

Early in the day I had a great time photographing all the amazing ball crew when Kristyna Pliskova made a special appearance.

Another highlights of the day was photographing the Top 8 seeds at the Media All Access Hour, including Sloan Stephens, Anastasija Sevastova, Caroline Wozniacki, Julia Goerges, Kiki Bertens, Aryna Sabalenka, and Danielle Collins.

But the real show-stopper was when an emotional Shelby Rogers won her first match back on the tour after a difficult year of recovery after a scary knee surgery!

Stay tuned for Day 2…

VCO 2019 – Iconic Photo Shoot

To kick of the start of the Volvo Car Open each year, the tournament has me photograph what they call the Iconic Photo Shoot. They select two players, who we take to an iconic Charleston landmark, where they pretend to play a little tennis. This year’s players were rising American star, Danielle Collins, and our 2017 champion from Latvia, Jelena Ostapenko.

VCO 2019 – Family Day

The first day of qualifying at the Volvo Car Open (www.volvocaropen.com) was absolutely EPIC!!! Between Family Day, VIP clinics, all the special player autograph sessions, and the Draw Party, there was so much to see and photograph. It kept me hopping while I hustled to cover everything…including even a little bit of tennis action!  🙂

AO Women’s Doubles Final

Congratulations to Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic on capturing the Australian Open Women’s Doubles crown!!!

“Of course it’s an incredible feeling to share this moment together on court. We really enjoy playing together. We improved overall I think every single match,” said Babos.

The accomplishment is made even sweeter by the formidable team they beat in the finals. Makarova and Vesnina were shooting for their first Australian Open title which would have landed them a career Golden Slam, having previously won the French (2013), Wimbledon (2014), US (2017) and Olympic (2016) titles.

As the official photographer of the Volvo Car Open, it was a real honor for me to be credentialed for this match. Hopefully we’ll see these four ladies vying for the title in Charleston a few months from now!!!

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Day 9

Day 9 of the Volvo Car Open was an epic finish to a fantastic week of tennis!

Bethanie-Mattek Sands and Lucie Saffarova showed why they are such good friends, and why they are the #1 doubles team in the world!!! After clinching this, their second title in Charleston, defeating Katerina Siniakova and Lucie Hradecka, the dynamic duo shared an adult beverage before meeting up with me to photograph their Doubles Champions Photos.

Later, in the battle of the 19-year-olds, Daria Kasatkina prevailed over fellow youngster, Jelena Ostapenko, to claim her very first WTA tour title. Overwhelmed with raw emotion during her trophy presentation, she nearly had me in tears!!! What a special moment for this adorable young lady!  “I’m just enjoying it every moment, every second,” she said. “And really, when I was on the court after the last point, I just wanted the moment to stop because it was one of the best moments in my life.”

After a celebratory meal with her team, Daria met up with us in downtown Charleston for her Champions Photos.

Many thanks to all the amazing players, tournament staff, the WTA, all the volunteers, grounds crew, ball kids, umpires, line judges, marketing team, and my photography partner, Alice, for another AMAZING Volvo Car Open!!!

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Day 8

Day 8 of the Volvo Car Open left two VERY HUNGER teenagers standing!!! Not since Anna Ivanovic in 2001 has a teenager won this tournament. This year, it’s guaranteed that another teenager will take home the title! Both Daria Kastkina and Jelena Ostapenko are 19 years old. Both are rising stars. Both are seeking their first WTA Tour title!!!

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Day 7

Day 7 of the Volvo Car Open brought us down to JUST FOUR playeers left!!! Each of them survived the round of 16 through fearless play, upsetting all the top seeds along the way. I look at each of the four players left in the draw and find I like every single one of them for different reasons: Laura Siegemund, Daria Kastkina, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Jelena Ostapenko. Who will YOU be cheering for as we enter Semi-final Saturday?!?

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Day 5

Day 5 of the Volvo Car Open had a number of major upsets…as well as some huge triumphs. Not the least of which was Charleston’s own Shelby Rogers, who defeated the Number 1 seed, Madison Keys, in 3 sets!!!  And who can forget Laura Seigemund’s battle over Venus Williams?!?

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Day 3

Day 3 of the Volvo Car Open started with me hanging out with Jennifer Brady at Charleston Day School. The kids LOVED her!

Then it was on to the MUSC Children’s Hospital where Darija Jurak and Misaki Doi took time out of their busy practice schedules to go and play with some kids that really needed some cheering up!

I then zipped over to the Daniel Island Club to photograph the All Access Media Hour, where 8 of the top seeds gather to be interviewed by various media outlets. Madison Keys, Johanna Konta Venus Williams, Samantha Stosur, Elena Vesnina, KiKi Bertens, and Daria Gavrilova were among the stars I got to photograph. Even last year’s Champion, Sloan Stephens, made in appearance, in spite of not being able to play this year due to injury.

Finally, I headed to the Family Circle Tennis Center to photograph several matches, including former Champions Andrea Petkovic and Jelena Jankovic, plus local home-town hero Shelby Rogers, before the rain drove us all indoors.

It’s all in a day’s work when you’re the official photographer at this world-class professional women’s tennis tournament!!!

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Iconic Photo Shoot

Day two of the Volvo Car Open had me photographing what’s known as the Iconic Photo Shoot. This is where we photograph two of the top players at an iconic Charleston location. Previous locations have included the beach on Isle of Palms, and the flight deck of The USS Yorktown!

This year the selected location was The Cistern on the College of Charleston campus. The team from WTA even set up a net across The Cistern so the players could play a few points during the photo shoot. Before the players arrived, the C of C tennis team arrived for a couple cool photos!

Eventually, Elena Vesnina and Daria Gavrilova arrived for the shoot. We all had a BLAST and came away with some really cool images with which to promote this year’s Volvo Car Open!!! 🙂

Volvo Car Open 2017 – Qualies

A big sight of relief! After another year of anticipation and preparation, day 1 of the 2017 Volvo Car Open is under the belt.

The first Saturday is always full of fun. It’s not only the first day of qualifying for the un-seeded players, but it’s also Family Day. There are tons of activities for the kids, tennis clinics, autograph sessions, and of course world-class tennis matches!

To add to the excitement, this year the PowerShares series was moved from the second Saturday to the first Saturday of the tournament. Featuring legends of the game like John MacEnroe, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Mark Philippousis, the evening was not only a showcase of the men’s talent, but also entertaining with the humerous banter between them!

Stay tuned for tons more action to come as I cover this annual WTA tournament, my 16th as their official photographer!!!

Volvo Car Open – Champions Photo

With Sloane’s big breakthrough this week at the Volvo Car Open, a NEW Champion is crowned!!!

After winning one match in five previous Charleston tries, Sloane Stephens, the 23-year-old American, found her fire this year. She made her first-ever final here, saving a match in the quarterfinals and playing standout tennis before Angelique Kerber was forced to retire. In the championship bout, she stopped a red-hot Elena Vesnina, earning her fourth WTA singles title, third in 2016 and first-ever on clay.

To top it all off, besides winning the trophy, plus a $128,100 check, she gets a NEW CAR!!! With Volvo Car USA as the new title sponsor, it had one more surprise up its sleeve by presenting Stephens with a brand-new limited edition Volvo. “Oh my goodness!” a shocked Sloane said on court. “You guys, I Just won a car.”

As the official photographers, after our champion had a chance to freshen up and catch her breath, Alice, Arielle, and I whisked her away for a private photo shoot with her new hardware. We had fun using our cameras as “stand-in” trophies to test the light. It was a chilly, overcast afternoon. But Sloan was a real trooper. And her hardware was waaay prettier than ours. We all had a BLAST!

CONGRATULATIONS to our new champion, Sloan Stephens!!!