Given the year we’ve all had, our annual Australian Open (tennis) selfie is a little different this time.
Our round 3 tickets got cancelled because of the snap five-day lockdown in Melbourne, so we just went to the women's singles final instead :)
Selfie of a man and woman, both wearing face masks. They have their backs to the Rod Laver Arena tennis court, which is about half full of spectators. On the tennis court itself is Naomi Osaka, winner of the 2021 Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup – which is awarded to the winner of the women’s singles tournament. Osaka is holding that cup and is getting her photo taken by a large group of photographers gathered at one end of the court.
Rod Laver Arena is such a gorgeous venue to watch matches in. And even at 50% capacity we managed to make plenty of noise.
Wide angle photo of Rod Laver Arena, a tennis arena with a rich blue playing surface. The seats, which are also in shades of blue, are about half full with spectators. The sun is setting behind the photographer so there is a golden glow on the seats on the far side of the arena.
Speaking of venue capacity, it was super strange seeing Grand Slam Oval so empty! But with only two matches tonight, and the whole place strictly divided into zones anyway, it makes sense.
Selfie of a man and a woman, both wearing masks, with a mostly empty food and retail sports tournament space behind them. In the background is a building a smaller tennis arena.
Give this was a finals match we got to watch a short musical pre-show, complete with bisexual lighting.
Photo of a large tennis arena with its roof closed. The arena is bathed in blue and purple lighting while a trio of singers perform from one end of the court.
As for the match itself, well here’s Naomi Osaka’s serve in slow motion.
For the match itself, will here's @naomiosaka's service in #SloMo. pic.twitter.com/nevzjM9Sbx
— Ameel Khan (@ameel) February 20, 2021
Of course at any modern sports venue the Spidercam is da real MVP.
Photo of a Spidercam camera mounted on a 360-degree gimball that’s attached to the ceiling by wires. This lets the camera zip around above the heads of the players, capturing the action from lots of different angles.
And even though we didn’t need these this year, Nadia is still a big fan!
Photo of a woman hugging a large metal fan that’s mounted on a wide cylindrical pedestal. Combined, the pedestal and fan are 50% taller than she is. On hot days these fans spray a fine spray of cold water over people passing by.