Abby's first thought was to photograph a tennis player at the ongoing Australian tennis Open.

Nonetheless, it has been an unusually fractious year for Australian tennis.

An era in Australian tennis officially ended last week when Patrick Rafter announced that his one-year sabbatical from the game was turning into retirement.

Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long (born in Sydney, Australia, 14 October 1918) was one of the female tennis players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s.

Mark Bradtke has been married to the Australian former professional tennis player Nicole Provis since 1994.

In 2001, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for her service to Australian tennis.

He successfully negotiated the transition from amateur to professional tennis and has been praised for his forward and progressive thinking, an example of which was the introduction of sponsorsip to Australian tennis.

And now, it appears, Australian tennis is in the midst of a rebirth, making strides toward regaining the prominent status it enjoyed more than 20 years ago.

For Mats Wilander, the only man to win the Australian Open at both its modern venues, it has always felt like a shrine to the glory days of Australian tennis.

After Wimbledon, it was announced that he had hired former Australian tennis pro Tony Roche to coach him during Grand Slam and Masters tournaments in 2007 and 2008.