Match Point With Radka Leitmeritz

Radka Leitmeritz is a Czech-born photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her work spans fashion, celebrity portraiture, art, and tennis, with projects featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. These days, she splits her time between creative collaborations, personal art projects, and photographing some of the world’s most inspiring athletes and personalities.

How did you first get into tennis photography? Was there a specific moment or person that influenced you?
"Tennis entered my photography naturally through my own connection to the sport, when I started playing and became completely obsessed with it. As a professional photographer with a background in fashion, I was drawn to a beauty and visual language that, at the time, I felt was not being captured."

At what point did you start seeing photography as more than just a hobby?
"Photography became more than a passion when I understood it as my language - a way to tell stories and preserve atmosphere, memory, and emotion. I am working as a professional photographer for over 30 years, and I was fortunate to realize very early on that this was my true form of expression."

What is it about tennis that makes it visually interesting for you to capture?
"Tennis holds a beautiful tension between power and stillness, discipline and vulnerability -that contrast fascinates me endlessly."

Is there a specific moment or athlete you’ve photographed that truly surprised you?
"The moments that surprise me most are often the quiet ones, when an player briefly lets go of performance and simply exists in front of the camera. I remember working with Sabalenka years ago, when she was still very young,she already had that tiger energy, but also the playful, silly spirit of a young girl. Iga, before becoming World No. 1, was incredibly shy and quiet, yet on court she transformed into someone fiercely focused and almost unbeatable. Venus surprised me with her humor and warmth. Having traveled on tour for so many years, I have witnessed players rise and fall, and what continues to fascinate me most is their mental strength and extraordinary resilience,  their ability to keep going despite the pressure and challenges."

Is there any project you’re specifically proud of and remember as especially meaningful?
"My long-term women’s tennis project, COURT SUPREMES, is especially close to me because it goes beyond sport , it is about identity, strength, and female presence. My book ONE:LOVE was created as a homage to Czech women’s tennis and launched alongside a large exhibition at Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts, which remains a very special memory for me." love just smacking tennis balls every day. There’s something simple and pure about that, which is fun to capture.

Do you have a favorite type of tennis setting to shoot in - private homes, clubs, empty courts, or athletes in motion? Why?
"I am deeply drawn to empty courts and intimate environments because they carry memory and atmosphere , they allow the story to breathe beyond the match itself. At the same time, I am equally inspired by the energy of professional tournaments, where I search for my own visual angle and aesthetic that blends my art and fashion background. I look for moments that others may not see."

Is there something about professional tennis players that people don’t see, but you do?
"People often see achievement; I see sensitivity, ritual, pressure, and remarkable humanity beneath the discipline, but also loneliness, frustration, and ultimately boys and girls fighting every day to achieve their dreams."

What’s the hardest part about photographing a professional player in motion?
"The challenge is not only timing the movement, but capturing emotion within speed , finding the frame that feels alive and beautiful, rather than simply athletic. Access restrictions can also be challenging, as photographers cannot always move or shoot freely during play. Light is everything , sometimes it is magical and cinematic, and sometimes it demands patience and adaptation."

If you had to describe Sunset Tennis Club in one image you’ve taken - what would it feel like?
"It would feel cinematic and elegant , timeless, atmospheric, and suspended somewhere between sport and dream."

Connect with Radka and take a look at his work on Instagram @radkaleitmeritz