Italy’s Jannik Sinner serves the ball to Austria’s Sebastian Ofner during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
ROME (AP) — Alessandra Tarantino was hired by AP in 2005. She is based in Rome and covers major events in the city, in Vatican City and across Italy. She has also covered the Olympics, soccer tournaments and tennis tournaments around the world.
Here’s what she had to say about this extraordinary photo of Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open tennis tournament.
Why this photo?
First of all, Sinner is a great player, but we photographers have various problems photographing him. The first is that the matches are often too fast, and the second is the cap with the visor! We all look forward to the day when he will let his beautiful red hair loose. That’s why I went to this spot under the court where there’s a small, slightly high window, because it’s easier to capture his expression after he scores a point. When I came down, the spot was strangely empty, and this allowed me to try a few shots with the entire silhouette of the window.
