Anatomy of a hot shot: Capturing Alexandra Eala's Centre Court stretch

LONDON -- In arguably the best photo of the tennis season so far, Alexandra Eala looks as though she is trying to levitate above the Centre Court grass through sheer force of will. The Filipina star's entire body is stretched to its limit, and her expression is one of pure, determined desperation that goes beyond rationality. She'd slipped moments earlier, and had barely any hope of winning the point, but nonetheless her sole, unwavering focus was to somehow connect her racquet to the ball.

WTA photographer Robert Prange, a.k.a. Jimmie48, didn't even realize he'd captured the perfect shot until several hours later -- immediately after Eala's 7-6(9), 6-2 upset of Iga Swiatek on Saturday, he had to cover two other third-round matches, and only went through his camera roll properly later that evening.

"I knew that probably people would be interested, because it's such a unique thing," he said. "But it was only this morning when I woke up and I saw it really, really blew up. I've been doing this for 15 years, and I have never shot a player doing that particular movement. I mean, there's only so many ways you can move on a tennis court to doing something that people usually don't see.

"But that's all on her -- she did the hard part!"

It might be a rare move, but it's one that's entirely on brand for Eala.

"So much of her playing style is just grit and fighting and never giving up," Jimmie said. "And that one move encapsulates that so much. You see her trying to get an impossible ball -- and she got it across the net.

"I think that's what many people don't realise. The effort wasn't in vain. It actually went over."

To get the shot, Jimmie had positioned himself in the photo pit to the right of the main TV camera as Eala led 3-0, 40-30 in the second set, anticipating her reaction should she close out the game.

"That's the direction they face when they celebrate," Jimmie said on Sunday morning. "Because their box is on the other end. Theoretically, [photographers] can be on all four sides of the court. But the left side of the court, on that side, is the prime position, because you're closest to the player's box. That's usually where the big agencies are located. There seems to be a bit less space.

"And also, I was on that side because I wanted to get some shots of the crowd in the background -- the seats were full and it looks nice. But positioning is pure luck. You're either in the right spot or you're not."

Jimmie didn't get the celebration he was looking for -- but when Eala slipped and attempted her desperate crawl forwards, to gasps from the crowd, he instinctively kept shooting. The result was a picture that he says would rank among the best 10 that he's taken in his career, with its uniqueness elevated further by the location, occasion and fact that Eala went on to complete the upset.

"I might never take a photo like that ever again," he said. "Waiting for that kind of movement again, that'll probably be a while."