PICTURE: One-of-a-kind victory celebration that won $3,000 prize money for ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year
The International Tennis Federation has created a new award category to honor the most iconic picture from the tennis world in 2024. The inaugural award was bestowed on an image from the 2024 Paris Paralympics featuring Japanese wheelchair player Tokito Oda.
German photographer Frank Molter won the 2024 ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year award for his picture of Japan’s Tokito Oda and his emotional celebration after winning the men's singles gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.
In the image, Oda is on the floor in tears after removing the wheels from his chair to celebrate his gold-winning moment in Paris.
Frank Molter received a cash prize of $3,000 as the ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year awardee. He was adjudged as the winner by a panel consisting of ITF President David Haggerty, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and tennis photographer Paul Zimmer.
Molter's snap finished ahead of nine other photographs to win the top prize. Amateur French photographer Agathe Monier was placed #2 and won $1,000 for an image of Rafael Nadal leaving Court Philippe Chatrier after his final appearance at the French Open.
Australia's Fiona Hamilton finished at #3 and won $500 for her photograph of a smiling child crawling under a net during the National Indigenous Tennis Carnival held in August in Darwin, Australia.
Other notable nominees for the award include Nicholas Gouhier's image of Carlos Alcaraz's unbelievable backhand cross-court drop shot in the French Open final, the image of Jasmine Paolini throwing her racket after guiding Italy to Davis Cup glory by Angel Martinez, and an emotional Novak Djokovic hugging his daughter after winning the Paris Olympic gold, clicked by Manuel Fernandez Vidal.
A complete list of Paris Olympics and Paralympics medal winners in tennis category
Many athletes created history during the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Lorenzo Musetti won the gold, silver, and bronze medals in the men's singles category at the Olympics. On the women's singles side, Zheng Qinwen, Donna Vekic, and Iga Swiatek took the top three prizes, respectively.
Australia's Matthew Ebden and John Peers (gold), USA's Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek (silver), and USA's Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul (bronze) occupied the podium in the men's doubles competition. Italy's Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, and Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo and Cristina Bucsa were the medal winners in women's doubles.
In the mixed doubles, the Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac, China's Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen, and Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Felix Auger-Aliassime won the gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively.
At the Paralympics, Tokito Oda defeated Alfie Hewett in the men's singles gold medal match, with Gustavo Fernandez winning the bronze medal. Yui Kamiji, Diede de Groot, and Aniek van Koot took home the top prizes in the women's singles. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid were gold medalists in the men's doubles, and Yumi Kamiji and Manami Tanaka emerged victors in the women's singles category.