He rubs the sweat off his face and throws the ball in the air … before catching it and starting over. His pre-serve routine needed to be flawless, and he’d forgotten to swipe his nose a second time.

What made the moment even more amusing—and meaningful—was the irony that Naomi Osaka was imitating Rafel Nadal’s ritual on the very surface he dominates.

In Nadal's case, developing a powerful serve is critical given the punishment he exacts on his body, particularly his knees, as he thunders around the court retrieving ball after ball.

Naomi Osaka has had an exhausting week on clay, but she found a way to be her jovial self with a light-hearted tribute to Rafael Nadal following her recent title win in Saint-Malo, France.

The four-time Grand Slam champion took to her TikTok account to share a playful video of herself taking a bite out of her trophy — a nod to Nadal’s iconic and long-standing victory ritual.