The 2021 Australian Open tennis tournament, which is normally held every year during the hot Australian summer, was this year a very different event. Held with either very few spectators or no crowds at all, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the players competed in a very different environment, and produced some interesting moments of interaction with nature.
After joining Reuters in 1995, I have covered news and sporting events in Asia and the South Pacific region. I have covered 9 Olympic Games, a total of 14 World Cup tournaments for soccer, cricket and rugby, numerous world athletics and swimming championships, and 24 Australian Open tennis tournaments. In 2003 I was appointed Reuters Chief Photographer Australia, until 2007 when I moved to Beijing, China as a Specialist Photographer. I moved back to Australia in 2013, and became a freelance photographer in 2019.