tennis calendar player cards ... ?? what the..... ????

yes, that's a mouthful for a name... :)

VTP is proud to offer these new cards for the coming year 2009. wall calendars are out, but it won't hurt to print a small calendar at the back of these player cards, i hope. after all, they are really an enormous size compared to the standard pocket size varieties. and larger images of players should always be more desirable, i think.

for more information, including what players are available other than rafa nadal ;) check them out here at the calendar main page.

let me know if you have any feedback. if you'd rather have another player/photo other than what's on offer, submit your suggestion to this post, and i'll see if there's enough interest!

ps. if you're still after a wall calendar, you have to check out the official ATP 2009 (almost shirtless) calendar... you can't say the atp hasn't put in all they've got into marketing. wonder why the top guys (in singles) aren't getting into the act!...

beijing ticketing scam

as the beijing olympic games are coming this week, i hope to alert fans to some internet ticketing scams that have only been recently uncovered.

see this article for more information.

it's hard to believe how one of the scam sites, www.beijingticketing.com, is still in operation as of this current moment.

VTP provides links to a ticketing website too. if anyone has problems with this agency, please let me know too, as I would not want to be affiliated with any doubtful business... though i do not have any reason to doubt their operations so far.

congratulations, rafa nadal 2008 wimbledon champ!!!

this final will get people talking for a long time :)

(foxsports video swapped for ESPN's highlights on youtube swapped for another ESPN video that is guaranteed to be there for a long long time ;)

this is the video that features the kipling's poem 'if'.

also a link to another video with a match summary

mikhail youzhny - the head injury...

just have to post it... the hottest tennis video on youtube has little to do with tennis. the men's tour may need some more of this bloody action to generate more publicity :p so the atp should be pleased.

win a free tennis calendar!

thanks to all who have bought the 2008 calendar... it's been quite an interesting exercise for me.

there's now only one and only one left from the limited stock, and instead of waiting for that last buyer while the year is moving on fast (clay season almost upon us, after miami) i've decided to run a competition to give it away.

of course in exchange for that, i will demand some answers for kind of a marketing survey... but i'd like to think that it's fair! via's tennis photos has been set up for a few years now, and although money is far from being the objective, it would be interesting to get some feedback... (and perhaps some payback?)

so go on... tell me a bit more than just how many stars it's worth, and you may earn yourself a neat little calendar with 9 more months to go... not to mention, each page has one or two nicely printed pic of a pretty cool tennis player on it.

australian open 2008 gallery is up!

there are now more photos and many more players from the australian open at my australian open 2008 gallery. and they're not just french! apart from ana, there are many other top female players, players who played french players (lol), some doubles players, a few pics of rafa and marcos as usual, and even practice pics of roger and lleyton. (luckily, to satisfy viewer demand).

four days of australian open tennis

i now have 4 days worth of photos from last week. it will be quite some time before i finish uploading and filing the good ones, so i'll just quickly put a few up here in this blog to whet your appetite ;)

... and you think sebastien can't be funny! here he is, having a serious discussion with the umpire at a doubles match.

arnaud wiping sweat

fans asking for autographs from clement/llodra (photo courtesy: alfred sin)

crazy hair murray playing a game of tennis soccer

adding more photos to sydney 2008 gallery

yes you can find more photos and more players from the sydney tournament at my sydney 2008 gallery. i'm still adding, haven't got to the rest of tuesday yet, which was my last day.

i'm doing only one or two for each player at this time... but if a player gets more hits or higher rating, then (as i always have done) i will add a few more of his/her pics. you are always the boss ;)

sydney tennis 2008, day 3 tuesday

i was more into catching people than watching matches today!

enjoying a hit ... seb grosjean

so many girls asking for a picture ... dmitry tursunov

looking pretty in sydney ... ana ivanovic

the blind team? lol ... fernando verdasco and gilles simon

retiring ... paul-henri mathieu

i also got autographs from carlos moya while he's waiting for a practice court, he's shy as usual... and catching verdasco again when i was leaving... fernando was signing sponsor's balls in a tent right next to the exit! like, say goodbye to a star before you go! (one of the many new inventions at this tournament this year) it's kind of funny, people queuing up for their ball before they left, most of whom did not know who he was. but fernando looked very cool about it and was particular sweet with kids with other demands :)

sydney tennis 2008, day 2 monday

another quickie ;)

sebastien grosjean... hard fought match on centre court against 'aussie aussie aussie oi oi oi', but as one aussie lady yelled out, 'sebastien we love you too!'

nicolas devilder... lost final qualie match to alberto martin

feliciano lopez... disappointment in first round to fernando verdasco

daniela hantuchova... long long match with dinara safina

tatiana golovin... too strong for tzipora obziler

james blake... tamed by fabrice santoro

sydney tennis 2008, qualifying saturday

i'm still so tired and soaked in rain and sweat that i really don't want to write much, apart from posting a few photos and captions in a timely manner and hope they are enough to please some of you!

nicolas devilder... a lucky winner playing a no-name substitute!

camille pin... at practice

fabrice ... still having fun

richard gasquet ... training with fabrice

john isner ... yes i do mean to show him diagonally

arnaud ... bad match-up with isner?

sebastien grosjean and bruno ... spectators who didn't really want to know (LOL)

this has to be ... mathieu montcourt!









more photos coming soon. check out the usual photo galleries as well.

new year plans

it's that time of the year again for aussie tennis fans...

like last year, i'm heading to the sydney tournament, and then for a few days to melbourne for the australian open.

the players i'll be seeing are probably the same old same old... but this year no more rebound ace, instead there will be a new bluey surface called plexicushion (heaven help me that i've got this right lol) so at least the pics will look slightly different.

stay tuned..... :)

now imagine, a calendar with a lot of piccies of your favourite tennis stars...

yes that is just what i have created from my fav photos, which you no doubt have seen at my galleries :) i hope there are a few fans out there, who likewise think this is a great idea, and are willing to pay me for my costs, plus a little extra to subsidise my hobby!

so go and take a look at the calendar and see for yourself, for more information... and give me any feedback if you care.. although did i get any, the last time i asked? i'm keeping my fingers crossed ;p

tennis is back at beijing again...

as for me and this blog this is kind of a one year anniversary, as i basically started blogging for my trip to beijing! this year no such luck for me as i'm safely and boringly ensconced at home, with next to no tennis on the telly for me this year, and not having done any tennis with the camera since january.

so really i don't have anything interesting to report, except that it's already september, and aussie tennis isn't that far away, is it? ;) in fact, the tennis calendar commences again before new year 2008, on december 31 2007 officially, but of course for qualifiers and early birds they will be in adelaide (and doha, and chennai...) by the weekend before.

so there! i will continue to hibernate until december when i again blow the dust off my lenses and prepare myself for the annual tennis fix. in the mean time, i am actually working on a 2008 wall calendar with some of my most popular tennis pics. stay tuned when/if something along that line comes up... i may offer it on my tennis photos website...

(what do you think? would you pay for a wall calendar with my pics on it?)