Frank Molter of Germany has been declared the winner of the inaugural ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year competition.

Molter’s image of Japan’s Tokito Oda removing the wheels from his char and laying in tears on the court during his gold medal-winning moment at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event came out on top.

His photograph was chosen as the winner by a judging panel comprised of ITF President David Haggerty, two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza and tennis photographer Paul Zimmer.

 

Top prize: Frank Molter

Molter beat off immense competition from photographers, both amateur and professional, from around the world. To celebrate this wonderful photograph, we are going to go behind the lens of the man himself.

Congratulations, Frank. How does it feel to have won the inaugural ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year competition?

It feels unreal. I never thought I would have a chance to win. There were so many high-profile tennis events like Grand Slams, Olympics, Paralympics in 2024 where fantastic pictures by colleagues were taken. But what wows me the most is the fact that a photo of a wheelchair tennis player takes the crown. This is also a huge recognition for athletes with disabilities who invest so much in their sport but often do not get enough attention. I hope my photo can push the attention and interest for wheelchair tennis a tiny bit.

Where does your love of photography come from?

I was very media-savvy (TV and Radio) as a child, even though I grew up in a time with three TV channels and no computers or smartphones. When I got older, I loved to take a look behind the scenes to see how everything works. During this time my wish to be a creator myself grew. I first started taking photos and writing for a school newspaper. Later, I financed my studies by working at a daily newspaper. I realised then how much I loved telling stories with photos.

For you, what makes this such a wonderful photograph?

I love this photo, and I can still feel the moment when I took it. The evening before in Paris, I had been speculating with my dear colleague, Daniel Kopatsch, about what the gold medal winner would do after match point. I had probably thought that he might fall on his back. But the fact that someone would also dismantle the wheels of his wheelchair completely blew my mind. It also shows what had built up inside Tokito Oda after the match-point he fought off against Alfie Hewett. You can see that in his face. What I also particularly like about the photo is that everything happens between the T-line and the baseline, which gives the whole scene a nice frame. And lastly, the tracks of the wheels in the sand are very nice to see. They are representative of the effort that the athletes showed in this match.

Did you know immediately that you had taken a wonderful photograph?

I had a certain feeling that something special was going on. And when Daniel – he was sitting downstairs – sent me a message immediately saying, ‘congrats on shooting a great picture’, I already knew that I had witnessed a very special moment. But I also have to say that it takes a lot of luck. You cannot always influence yourself to be in the right place at the right time. But this time I was lucky.

Take me back to the moment in question, you’re behind the lens when that action is unfolding – what are your memories of that moment?

I was so stoked because I could not believe what I saw through the lens. The series consists of 20-30 pictures because Tokito Oda celebrated very extensively. I just thought, ‘OMG, what is he doing?’. It was important to stay focused as I did not know what would happen next. After that, I checked the pictures in the camera and began to smile.

The top three photographs, as decided by the panel, and the other shotlisted photographs from this year's ITF Tennis Photograph of the Year competition can be viewed in the gallery below.