25 most iconic sports photos from Getty Images this week

The sports world makes for a beautiful palette but individual images can get lost in the constant shuffle. Here are the most iconic sports photos from Getty Images this week.

Coco Gauff of The United States plays a backhand against Sloane Stephens of The United States during the Women’s Singles Quarter Final match on Day 10 of The 2022 French Open at Roland Garros on May 31, 2022, in Paris, France.

For me, Coco Gauff is currently the most exciting female tennis player to photograph and watch right now. Her graceful yet fearless style gives the photographers plenty of opportunities to capture her in peak action.  At only 18 years of age, Gauff has just made her first Grand Slam Final in Paris where she is pictured here at full stretch from the photographers’ pit behind the court. Roland Garros has been completely rebuilt in the last few years and has reinforced it as one of my favorite events in the world to cover.

— Ryan Pierse

Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs stands on deck as rain falls before batting against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 7, 2022, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Last week, the Chicago Cubs were in town for a pair of games against the Baltimore Orioles. With precipitation in the area, it was implied we would be stuck in a holding pattern waiting for it to pass. But with no electricity in the sky, and rain falling intermittently, the first pitch was on time and there were no hiccups in play. In an effort to tell the story of weather may be impacting play, I used a wide-angle lens as Cubs players stood on deck waiting to bat. Because my lens was pointed skyward, the heavy rain soaked the front element making for unique shapes that helped draw viewers in. This image of Jason Heyward was the most compelling as it appeared he was standing on another planet waiting to bat.

— Patrick Smith

Mo Donegal with Irad Ortiz, Jr. up wins the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes as Nest with Jose Ortiz up finishes second at Belmont Park on June 11, 2022, in Elmont, New York.

Horse racing is a really stressful sport to shoot from a photographer’s point of view – there’s a lot of work that goes into it throughout the day just for a two-minute race and a finish that lasts a second or two. We set up a bunch of remote cameras in the morning, making educated guesses on where the winning horse will run through the frame, manually setting the focus and exposure and sort of crossing our fingers that one of them will capture something. But as any photographer knows, remotes are just icing on the cake if they produce an image – the only camera you can really rely on is your handheld.

This photo of Mo Donegal winning the Belmont Stakes was taken on my handheld camera, but it was tricky in the moment. You can see that the jockey behind Irad Ortiz Jr. is wearing a similarly colored uniform, and due to the compression of a 600mm lens, it looked like both horses and both jockeys were neck-and-neck. The horses move through that last stretch in the blink of an eye, and through my lens, I could not tell who was winning the race! Irad Ortiz Jr. began to react as he and Mo Donegal neared the finish, so I keyed in on him and followed him to capture the rest of his reaction. It was only after watching the TV replay that I realized it wasn’t actually a neck-and-neck finish!

— Sarah Stier

Bryson Stott of the Philadelphia Phillies receives a water shower after hitting a walk-off three-run home run to defeat the Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park on June 5, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This image came after Bryson Stott hit a walk-off three-run home run to defeat the Los Angeles Angels. After major walk-offs, teammates may surprise the batter with a cool dousing of water to celebrate, so I knelt with a 24-70mm lens and watched how Stott’s teammates were tiptoeing with the water coolers.

Baseball’s interesting to me because the long season is a reminder that every day – and game – can have very different outcomes. The Phillies were down six runs going into the eighth inning against a team with two of the biggest names in the league, but a rookie ended up driving in the winning runs? It may just be one of 81 home games, but these are the cool moments we love to capture, and fans love to use as folklore.

— Tim Nwachukwu

Jasmine Moore of Florida competes in the triple jump during the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on June 11, 2022, in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors dribbles against Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics in the fourth quarter during Game Three of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 8, 2022, in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates with the trophy after winning against Casper Ruud of Norway during the Men’s Singles Final match on Day 15 of The 2022 French Open at Roland Garros on June 5, 2022, in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Brandon Fischer competes in the 200 Meter Breaststroke Final on Day Four of the TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo at Marguerite Aquatics Center on June 4, 2022, in Mission Viejo, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a third-period goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on June 3, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Taylon Snow of the Oklahoma Sooners pumps her fist as she rounds first base on a three-run home run against the Texas Longhorns in the first inning during the NCAA Women’s College World Series finals at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex on June 8, 2022, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oklahoma leads 10-1 after three innings in the first game of the best of three championship series. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Beau Hossler of the United States plays a shot on the first hole during the second round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village Golf Club on June 3, 2022, in Dublin, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Players of Chivas celebrate after winning the final second leg match between Monterrey and Chivas as part of Campeon de Campeones 2022 Liga MX Femenil at BBVA Stadium on May 30, 2022 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Anthony Rizzo of the New York Yankees reacts after sliding safely into home to score on an error and tie the game during the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium on June 5, 2022, in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Menards/Atlas Ford, and Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford, lead the field on a pace lap prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 5, 2022, in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Aldo Rocha of Atlas celebrates with the trophy after winning the final second leg match between Pachuca and Atlas as part of the Torneo Grita Mexico C22 Liga MX at Hidalgo Stadium on May 29, 2022, in Pachuca, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shoots during the first half against the Boston Celtics in Game Two of the 2022 NBA Finals at Chase Center on June 5, 2022, in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Patrick Mahomes reacts during Capital One’s The Match VI — Brady & Rodgers v Allen & Mahomes at Wynn Golf Club on June 1, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images for The Match)

Three-time WSL Champion Gabriel Medina of Brazil surfs in Heat 1 of the Quarterfinals at the Quiksilver Pro G-Land on June 4, 2022, at G-Land, Banyuwangi, Indonesia. (Photo by Ed Sloane/World Surf League via Getty Images)

Han Xu of the New York Liberty defends Reshanda Gray of the Seattle Storm during the second quarter at Climate Pledge Arena on May 27, 2022, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Oliver Kylington of the Calgary Flames chases the puck against Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers during the first period of Game Five of the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Saddledome on May 26, 2022, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images)

Marcus Ericsson of Sweden, driver of the No. 5 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, celebrates in Victory Lane by pouring milk on his head after winning the 106th Running of The Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 29, 2022, in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Cyriel Dessers of Feyenoord is challenged by Chris Smalling of AS Roma during the UEFA Conference League final match between AS Roma and Feyenoord at Arena Kombetare on May 25, 2022, in Tirana, Albania. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Devin Haney of the United States lands a punch to George Kambosos Jr. of Australia during the World Lightweight Championship bout between George Kambosos Jr. of Australia and Devin Haney of the United States at Marvel Stadium on June 05, 2022, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Chae-young Yoon of South Korea hits her second shot on the 18th hole during the first round of Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies Open at Rokko Kokusai Country Club on June 9, 2022, in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

Romano Wang of Crystal Palace Diving Club competes in the Men’s 10m during Day Three of the British Diving Championships at Ponds Forge on May 29, 2022, in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)