Achievement unlocked! After months of searching, Jasmine Paolini has finally snagged her long-awaited photo with Rafael Nadal.
The Italian, one of 2024’s breakthrough players, made no secret of her desire for a selfie with the all-time great this year, even going so far as to say that getting a photo with Nadal was a goal on par with winning a medal at the Paris Olympics. Though she failed in her quest in France (for the photo, not the medal), she picked up the baton this week in Malaga, where both she and Nadal were representing their respective nations in the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup.
As Nadal arrived at the venue for the final tournament of his career, Paolini sneakily snuck a snapshot of herself watching him practice in the days leading up to Spain’s quarterfinal tilt against the Netherlands, joking that she was “getting closer” to the perfect shot.
Read more: Jasmine Paolini still on the hunt for ‘legendary selfie’ with Rafael Nadal in Malaga
And while it was unclear exactly when Paolini finished the job, the Italian picked the perfect moment to reveal the photo of the two together on Tuesday in the aftermath of Nadal’s final match on tour.
“Finally, I got the picture!” a thrilled Paolini wrote alongside the smiling snapshot on Instagram. It was accompanied by a heartfelt tribute from Paolini to Nadal, whom she described as a “true inspiration to me and sports fans everywhere.”
