In April 2026, a photograph spread online purportedly showing U.S. President Donald Trump and a group of men standing in front of a champion women's tennis team. Many online noted that the female athletes whose achievements were being celebrated were partially obscured in the photograph by the men.
Snopes readers emailed us to confirm whether the photograph was real. One wrote: "There's an image going around of a White House celebration for Georgia Women's Tennis with the team hidden in the background while Trump and a bunch of men are prominently posed in the front. Is this a real image?"
(Image via Snopes reader)
The image was authentic. There is no evidence it was generated by artificial intelligence or digitally manipulated. The photograph was shared online by one of Trump's staff members and reposted by the official accounts of the women's tennis team featured in the background of the shot. As such, we rate this claim as true.
Asked why the women were situated at the back of the photo, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Snopes over email: "It's pretty clear to anyone with an ounce of commonsense that the women's team is accompanied by their fantastic coaches."
The women were all members of the University of Georgia's women's tennis team, which won the 2025 NCAA national championship. According to The Guardian, the men in the front were University of Georgia Deputy Athletic Director Ford Williams, Athletic Director Josh Brooks, head coach Drake Bernstein, associate head coach Jarryd Chaplin and assistant coach Will Reynolds. The women in the back row were Anastasiia Lopata, Mai Nirundorn, Aysegul Mert, Sarah Branicki and Alexandra Vecic. The women in the middle row were Tatum Buffington, Guillermina Grant, Haley Gaudette and Sofia Rojas, and in the front row with Trump, Mell Reasco and Hayden Mulberry.
Margo Martin, whose verified X account describes her as a special assistant to Trump, posted the image on April 21, 2026. Martin shared the photo (archived) with the caption: "Congratulations, Georgia Women's Tennis!"
Martin also shared a video of Trump walking up to the riser where the athletes stood for their photo. The men were already lined up in front of the women when they greeted Trump and he did not shake the women's hands in the video.
The University of Georgia's women's tennis team's official Instagram account shared the same photograph of the athletes posing with Trump with the caption: "An honor to represent the University of Georgia at the White House today! @realdonaldtrump thanks for having us out!"
Videos and photos of Trump greeting female athletes on other occasions show him shaking their hands and has them positioned more prominently in the photographs.
For further reading, Snopes reported on an authentic video in which Trump told the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team he would also "have to" invite the women's team to the White House for a victory celebration or he "probably would be impeached."