Ray Giubilo’s famous image of Jasmine Paolini captured through the strings of her racket at the US Open won the 2025 ITF Photo of the Year award. Shooting from a courtside position under Paolini’s box, Giubilo captured the athlete’s change of direction during a rally, with the result that her face is perfectly framed by the oval of the racket, with her eyes and mouth aligned within the circles and triangle of the racket. logo on the strings.
“I am really thrilled to know that my photo of Jasmine Paolini has been chosen as the ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year 2025. It means the world to me, especially because this image was competing with so many other beautiful photographs. I knew I had submitted a good image, but knowing the talent of my colleagues I wasn’t so sure it would be the winning one. I feel that this is not only an achievement of mine, but also of the entire brotherhood of tennis photographers with whom I have shared so many unforgettable moments of the sport over the last 37 Furthermore, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to see my name on the roll of honor alongside that of my dear friend Frank Molter, who won last year with the extraordinary image of Tokito Oda. I would like to thank the International Tennis Federation for the real support they have given us tennis photographers over the years.”
The image received great attention on social media and earned Giubilo the top prize of US$3,000. Second place went to French photographer Loic Wacziak, whose dynamic image captures Corentin Moutet in mid-air as he reaches for a ball, losing a shoe in the process at the Rolex Paris Masters.
In third place is the image taken by Zhong Zhi during the final of a local youth tournament in Guangzhou, China, and shows a coin toss between two young players, both intently watching the coin suspended in mid-air.
Among the finalist photos also a shot by Giampiero Sposito who immortalized the moment in which Simone Bolelli inadvertently caused the base of the Davis Cup to fall during the awards ceremony in Bologna, and the surprised reaction of his teammates.
