Jasmine Paolini Had Sweet Gesture for Photographer Who Shot Viral U.S. Open Photo

Paolini tipped her cap to the photographer who captured the perfect photo.

Jasmine Paolini walked over to shake photographer Ray Giubilo's hand after he shot the viral photo of her during a previous match / Screengrab via ESPN

Italian tennis star and WTA world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini was the subject of one of the best photographs of the year, captured by Italian photographer Ray Giubilo at the U.S. Open.

In Paolini's first-round match—a win over Australian Destanee Aiava—Giubilo took a photo at the perfect time and got a shot of Paolini with her eyes, nose and mouth perfectly lined up with the logo on the strings of her Yonex tennis racket.

The amazing shot is below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RAY GIUBILO (@raygiubilo)

She was back on the court for her second-round match at Flushing Meadows Wednesday. After a straight-set win (6-3, 6-3) over Iva Jović, she went over to the photographer's box to shake Giubilo's hand and share a quick smile and laugh.

Jasmine Paolini embraces photographer Ray Giubilo after he captured a once-in-a-lifetime picture of her during her previous match. https://t.co/xnWYDr3554 pic.twitter.com/bdnNimEtSj

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 28, 2025

She was asked about the photo in her post-match interview too as the Halloween-esque shot may have provided a new costume, or at least pumpkin-carving idea, for tennis fans all over the world.

"Maybe the picture of the year," she said via the U.S. Open.

Halloween costume sorted 🎃 😅

Stay tuned for @JasminePaolini's post later tonight! pic.twitter.com/NMmuVZgMUW

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2025

Paolini moves onto the U.S. Open's third round where she will take on Markéta Vondroušová on Friday. The first-round photo had to be a once-in-a-lifetime shot and it's cool to see the moment sparked Paolini herself to tip her cap.

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