Schuurs recalls ‘iconic’ Olympic photo with Rafael Nadal

There’s nothing quite like being in the right place at the right time. While the Netherlands’ Demi Schuurs fell short of achieving a medal for her country at the Paris Olympics, she walked away with an equally-priceless souvenir: Rafael Nadal’s match-worn T-shirt.

With her parents Lambert and Monique on hand for her Olympic debut, Schuurs recalled telling them that her big goals for the competition included coming away with the keepsake, like soccer players often do when they swap jerseys after the final whistle.

Schuurs got her wish after Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz defeated Schuurs’ countrymen Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof in the second round. She ran into the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion — competing at his last Olympics — inside Court Suzanne-Lenglen after the match, which the Spaniards won in three sets.

Shoot your shot, as the kids say.

“There was nobody there; he was with his family,” she said. “At one point, he took his T-shirt off, and he passed by. I said, ‘Congrats.’ I said, ‘Are you going to keep that T-shirt?’

“He said, ‘Do you want it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that would be nice!'”

Another memento followed. Schuurs calmed some jittering nerves to ask Nadal for a picture, and he obliged.

“I was like, ‘I can’t ask for a picture,'” she said. “I don’t want to be a stalker; I’m too shy. I just did it, came out of my comfort zone, and asked him for a picture. I was the happiest person in that moment.”

The photo and the T-shirt now occupy a place of pride in Schuurs apartment back home in the Netherlands — and the memory will forever be etched in her mind.

“I think I got the most likes on my Instagram on that picture,” she added. “It’s something that I’m going to keep with me for all-time.”