How Vika taught LaWanda the trick to taking the perfect tennis selfie

Longtime tennis fan LaWanda Watts is the queen of the selfie game at this year’s BNP Paribas Open, with players, fans and even tournament staff queuing up for the most sought-after photo of the tournament: a selfie with LaWanda herself.

But how did she develop her signature style, and what can the rest of us learn for the next time our faves come off the practice courts for a photo? LaWanda recently joined Nick Monroe on an episode of Credentialed (embedded above) to reveal all her secrets.

LaWanda, who hails from Los Angeles, listed Victoria Azarenka as one of her favorite players—and she explained it was in fact the former World No. 1 herself who helped her perfect her famous selfie strategy.

“She’s actually helped me learn how to do selfies, because I was doing them wrong and messing up so bad,” LaWanda told Credentialed.

The trick is to make things quick and easy for players: “You have to hold [your phone] out, and you have to be ready,” she said. “Have your face already in the view of the camera, and then the player can just peek in.”

It’s a method that has worked wonders: LaWanda told Monroe that she has snapped “maybe 200 or 300” selfies during the 15 or so years that she’s been attending the BNP Paribas Open.

After going viral, her next goal is a selfie with another of her faves: Rafael Nadal.