Home » Vintage Rafael Nadal photo featuring a younger Naomi Osaka.

A Twitter user recently shared an old photo of Rafael Nadal on his profile, and it’s not just any old photo—behind the Spanish champion, in the stands, is a young Naomi Osaka. A future WTA Tour champion can see themselves alongside a champion like the Spaniard in this one-of-a-kind photo.

Actually, there’s a little girl with thick brown hair hiding behind a twenty-year-old Nadal. The young lady in the photo, who was only nine years old when the picture was taken, is none other than Naomi Osaka, who was in attendance at one of Rafael Nadal’s many US Open matches during the 2006 season. Nadal is one of the most well-known and beloved tennis players in the world.

Consequently, she is not shocked by the fans’ immediate response to the photo’s release. Others even went off the deep end and said. Such a stunning image. Others chimed in with the word “iconic,” which they felt adequately captured the photograph’s significance.

A throwback picture of a younger Naomi Osaka

When one of the greatest tennis players of all time watches the match of a twenty-year-old who is sure to go down in history as one of the greatest tennis players and sportsmen of all time, it’s hard to look away.

Osaka’s past comments about Nadal now carry more weight. In one, a Haitian tennis player had made comments indicative of a sports interview rather than merely attested respect. Tennis stars NAOMI OSAKA and RAJAF NADAL After taking time off to deal with the depression she revealed in a high-profile press conference, Naomi Osaka has returned to the tennis court and is now ranked 38th in the world by the WTA.

Consequently, she has not yet achieved worldwide fame from her first major role. At the Masters 1000 in Toronto, Canada, she will try to regain her former glory and meet her tennis hero Rafa Nadal.

Perhaps they will meet in front of this picture and have a brief conversation, during which Naomi Osaka will reveal to Rafael Nadal who it was in that famous interview who said, “Every child who plays Tennis dreams of becoming like Nadal.” Who is to say that when she looked so thoughtful in that photo, she wasn’t secretly hoping to achieve success on par with him?