Sydney Gawlik is a multi-faceted creative who has traveled the world twice over, the first shooting music festivals and the second as partner (and as of the time of this writing, fiancé) of American ATP doubles player Evan King. Her fresh and optimistic style of photography earlier this year prompted us to ask her to shoot our Sergio Tacchini campaign in LA, and we were lucky enough to catch up with her on a weekend where she was in Paris cheering as King made the semifinals of Roland Garros doubles and the finals of mixed doubles with American Taylor Townsend. From small town Texas to her observations about tennis at the highest (and often least glamourous) echelons of the game, she told us about her evolution as a creative and how working with Racquet enabled her to create "the best of both worlds."
You grew up in New Braunfels, Texas—famously the home of John Newcombe's tennis ranch—Newks as we call it in the biz. But you didn't play tennis as a kid.
I never played tennis growing up but always saw the Newkies in school, those forever sun-kissed kids walking the halls of our high school, future pros in our midst. It’s a wild reminder how intertwined life is.
You studied Botany at the University of Texas, in Austin. How'd you transition into film and photography?
I wasn’t looking for a career as a botanist. To be honest, I was looking for answers at a time when my dad had terminal cancer and thought maybe plants could offer something medicine couldn’t. Instead it taught me about beauty, and how the natural world holds life and death with a bit more levity.
Around that same time, I began photographing live music where my career would launch into shooting festivals and then touring all around the country. It had this electricity and magnetism that ultimately drew me in and set my path.
Being a creative means you've worked in a couple of adjacent fields—what's the ethos of your photography?
Even still, those studies remain a cornerstone— how we exist in the world and what it means to be human. That tension has always stayed with me. The quiet moments, contrasted with the extraordinary ones. The ebb and flow of life and loss, light and dark. Everything around us is held in contrast, and nowhere in sport is that more evident than in tennis.
The hush that falls over the crowd. The eruption after an excellent point. It’s defined by silence and sound, rhythm and rupture. Shaped by repetition and understandable by people are so drawn to it.
How did you get into circus of tennis?
One date from Hinge turned to relationship. A relationship that’s turned into his world becoming part of mine.
Evan and I met in 2020. The world was on pause, tours canceled and calendars cleared. He was torn between grinding through singles or committing to doubles, having no skin in the game I just listened.
In 2022, he hit a slump and was ready to retire. I flew to the Canary Islands for what was meant to be his final tournament and he and Reese Stalder inevitably won.
I think about that week often, especially during weeks that feel like the ultimate high. As the observer, it’s respecting those unseen acts of perseverance. I don’t know what it’s like to be in their shoes. But my effort to honor it is to document these moments of power and grace, preserving them in time.
What were your expectations and what was your experience shooting this Sergio Tacchini collection with us at Racquet?
Tennis has an iconic, aspirational aesthetic but one that can feel exclusionary. What I loved about shooting Sergio Tacchini x Racquet was its effort to widen that frame.
Yes, it’s a country club sport but it’s also very much so a park sport. That same spirit I felt was brought into this collaboration.
Tell us about your Tennis King project.
Tennis King is a personal project I am working on about Evan’s dad. If you know Van King, he’s a magnetic, positive, jovial man whose zeal for tennis is palpable. This project explores how tennis became his passion and, in turn, shaped Evan’s path. It’s a story of legacy—how a single love can ripple through generations.
You're currently traveling the world—between your projects and the tennis circuit, how does one inform the other?
Our work keeps us both constantly in motion and on the road, projects taking me elsewhere, and making our life a logistical puzzle. I typically set aside time to be with him so we can be together, but if I can pitch a project in the same place or even around the sport—much like working with Racquet—it’s the best of both worlds!
Not to mention tennis is an amazing muse.
What are some things you feel like the general tennis fan doesn't see about this world you're so privy to?
What most fans don’t see is the nuance of doubles.
The coverage is minimal, so many stories, under-told. Two players sharing the victory, two humans navigating partnership and even breaking up. It’s like dating. Sometimes the pairings are strategic or just based on rankings. It can be messy and human.
And yet, the players in doubles pour everything into it—without the spotlight, without the big checks, just pure grit and love for the game.
Is anything on the horizon for you that you feel particularly excited about?
I bought a Bolex 16mm camera from the ’70s. It slows me down and every second of footage feels precious.
I’m cooking up a few film projects that I am excited to share more on and who knows, maybe one about the doubles tour.
Sydney Gawlik is a filmmaker, photographer, and multi-faceted creative living between Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX.
