Who is 15-year-old Maaya Rajeshwaran? What is the Rafael Nadal connection?

A video of tennis legend Rafael Nadal watching a girl in action at his academy - Rafael Nadal Academy - took the internet by storm recently.

Not many had heard of Maaya Rajeshwaran till then. The 15-year-old prodigy is promising to be the next biggest thing in Indian tennis.

The young girl has been creating waves in the tennis circuit and was in news for her stellar form at the L&T Mumbai Open WTA 125 Series where she secured a spot in the semi-finals at prestigious Cricket Club of India.

In a remarkable show of grit, the youngster overcame World No 264 Nicole Fossa Huergo of Italy in a grueling three-set battle (6–3, 3–6, 6–0) before prevailing against World No 434 Jessica Failla of the United States (7–6(9), 1–6, 6–4).

The successful run meant she etched her name in history as the youngest Indian ever to earn a WTA point - a milestone that caught the world attention.

Born on June 12, 2009, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Maaya’s was introduced to tennis accidentally. An after-school activity turned her liking to tennis into a serious passion at the age of eight. She initially trained under former India No 1 K G Ramesh before refining her skills at Pro Serve Tennis Academy under the mentorship of coach Manoj Kumar for the past five years.\

Granted a qualifying wildcard by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association, Maaya has made the most of her opportunity at this WTA 125 event, a tournament that ranks just below the elite WTA Tour.

Her style of play often compared to her idols Serena Williams and Aryna Sabalenka has been a talking point.

Maaya's good run ensured she got noticed and she earned herself a week-long training stint at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. The stint played a crucial role in her development, eventually leading to a year-long contract at the prestigious facility, which can eventually meant she relocated to Spain for her training at Nadal's academy.

If there was any indication as to what she was capable of Rajeshwaran was watched by Nadal himself up and close while she was training.

On Instagram, the Academy’s official account posted a series of photos of Nadal watching on in one of Maaya’s sessions, captioning the post "A very special spectator. @rafaelnadal didn’t miss any detail of the training of @maayarajesh.09, who with only 15 years old reached last month the semifinals of a WTA tournament.” Nadal can be seen standing with some others and watching with full intensity.

"It's one of my most favorite memories," she said. "Even a man that's won so much, he's still got that hunger and that's really impressive."