Bia, I was a photographer for many years. I worked for a magazine locally. But I used to string for a number of publications some of them tennis. I used to work some of the virginia slims events back well when it was the virginia slims tour. It wasn't that hard to get press creds for those tourneys back then, but after awhile any event Steffi played in it became harder for us stringers to get press creds because of the number of press apps a tourney received.
But the only tourney that I applied to that I couldn't get in was the old Lipton. One year a friend of mine applied to the Lipton or Key Bicayne, and got her creds. I had really waited too late trying to decide if I could justify making the trek to Miami. Then I thought, well, she got hers, we can share expenses, ok, I"ll try. So I called the press desk and told them who I was and before I could tell them who I worked for. They said wait, let me get Butch. I thought what? Then I realized that they thought I was somone else and I knew who they thought I was. Butch Buchholz gets on the line and he is hey how are you doing, ya de ya. I said, um.Mr. Buchholz I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not such and such. Let's just say he wasn't too happy.It really wasn't my fault, but I got the definite impression he thought it was. I called back my friend and told her you have go alone, I accidentally ticked off the tourney founder, and I don't think I'll be getting any creds for that one and I didn't.
So long story short I did it parttime, if I could get creds I worked it, if not I didn't. Because of personal commitments I coudn't follow the tour full time.
But a tennis buddy of mine did manage to make a very nice career for herself, and followed the tour full time. She became a terrific photog and covered all the majors as well. She was a bit of a Graf fan before she followed the tour but became a huge fan, after meeting and working with Steffi.
I guess basically I am something of a tennis nut, I teach, I play and when I had the opportunity I covered the sport.