Tennis shooters

I am shooting Tennis for the first time ever tomorrow at Stanford.
I will have a 300 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8.
I have attained court access credentials already but have never shot tennis so I just wanted to ask those who have where the best/formal spots on the court are?
Is there usually a "pit" like in Baseball?

Thanks in Advance,
mike

I have had luck with a 70-200 on a cropper body sitting between the courts right about at the net or a foot or two towards who I am shooting. They seem to prefer you being there instead of at the ends of the court. In the higher level stuff they have pits, I don't know how hardcore Stanford is about their tennis.

At the net is fine, you will be probably 5-7 feet from the net. For tennis, here are some tips:

• pre-focus at certain spots
  
• for right-handed players, pre-focus on the left players return of serve on the forehand side, and the right players backhand side (around 5 feet from where they set up).
  
• for mens tennis, particularly doubles, anticipate the player rushing the net by focusing around the service line for the first volley
  
• get a shot of each player in ready position waiting for the serve. No action here, but this make an easy to focus tennis portrait shot
  
• be sure to get shots of the backswing prior to contact, contact, and then the follow-through - 3 timing shots. Same is true with the serve.
  
• depending on your light, shoot most of your shots when you have a good background - hopefully one or both ends of the court will have windscreens that will give you a solid background
  
• take some high shutter speed shots to freeze the ball, but also take some a little slower to show a little motion of the ball and racket
  
• one thing I like to do when looking through the veiwfinder is keep the other eye open. This helps anticipate when the ball will be entering the frame
  
• stay focused after the point is over to get reaction shots
  
• take alot of pictures - you never know which one will be the winning shot

The most important thing is do not move around at any point that a match is going on. Wait for a break in the action... changing sides, changing serves, etc.

"The most important thing is do not move around at any point that a match is going on."

You must mean during a point not when a match is going on ?

If Djokovic is serving you can go out for coffee, have a smoke, come back and reset in a new position before he gets his serve in the air.

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