These are photos I've taken of women tennis stars at tournaments over the years. Click on the listings to bring up the pictures.
Maria Sharapova -- 28 photos
Serena Williams
Martina Hingis, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Gabriela Sabatini and Steffi Graf
Mary Pierce and Tracy Austin
Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova
All photos © Alan L. Cook 2006
For more tennis pictures plus complete information on tennis go to tennis.about.com
For all your tennis equipment and wearing apparel go to TennisPlaza.com
Home Page--read about Run into Trouble, my new mystery novel.
ACE
by Alan Cook
She stares across the net, her concentration
perfect, a statue but for fluttering skirt,
caressed by a summer breeze. Anticipation
also makes statues of the fans, alert
for reverberating smack of racquet hitting
ball. Her shirt is soaked with sweat, a strange
sensation, but she's in the zone--for pitting
herself against the worthy combatant downrange
has swept stray thoughts aside. Slowly at first,
then with growing speed her racquet describes an arc,
first down then up; in a movement long rehearsed
she tosses the ball to kiss a preset mark
inscribed in the air. Her racquet doubles back
and brushes another mark beside her hip.
And now her snapping swing, and now the crack
as the ball explodes, a launching rocket ship.
The follow-through; she's riding on the ball--
an astronaut streaking through the void of space.
A lunge by her opponent, then a sprawl;
the fans erupt in cheers--another ace!