Courtside Competition

September 28, 2009

Kimiko Date Krumm Backhand Tennis Grimace - Seoul, South Korea - Daily Travel Photos
(Seoul, South Korea)
f/6.3 ▪ 1/800s ▪ @175mm ▪ ISO250 ▪ Canon 5D Mark II ▪ Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
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Let's keep this one short and simple. I'm running on little sleep since my sojourn to the center of South Korea.

The WTA was in Seoul last week, featuring some well known tennis stars playing for the win at the Hansol Open. Just yesterday (Sunday), Kimiko Date Krumm, a Japan native, took the crown over Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues. I had the privilege of attending an early round match to watch Kimiko Date Krumm and snap off a few photos from the first row. 10,000 Korean Won (USD$8) allows an all day smörgåsbord of women's tennis for preliminary round matches. I can safely say, that was the most amount of labored grunting I've heard since my last trip to the dentist (and strangely, also the ophthalmologist).

One year earlier, Kimiko, at the age of 38, came out of her 1996 retirement to compete professionally in tennis once more. This is her first major victory since returning to the WTA.

See a smaller version on Flickr.

Kimiko Date Krumm
Kimiko Date Krumm Waiting Serve Tennis - Seoul, South Korea - Daily Travel Photos
(Seoul, South Korea)
f/6.3 ▪ 1/800s ▪ @200mm ▪ ISO250 ▪ Canon 5D Mark II ▪ Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
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Awaiting a serve.

Kimiko Date Krumm
Kimiko Date Krumm Serve Tennis - Seoul, South Korea - Daily Travel Photos
(Seoul, South Korea)
f/5.6 ▪ 1/800s ▪ @175mm ▪ ISO250 ▪ Canon 5D Mark II ▪ Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
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Grimacing serve. I hope to look this good when I'm 39 years old also!

Thanks to twitter's @CoolStuffKorea for the heads up on the WTA being in town.