Rafael Nadal is among six world-class athletes who have been nominated for Sportsman of the Year at the annual Laureus Awards ceremony.
The world No.6 faces opposition from the likes of footballing great Lionel Messi, F1 star Max Verstappen and basketball player Stephen Curry for the honour. First hosted in 2000, the Laureus Awards ‘honours, recognises and celebrates the world’s greatest athletes.’ Nadal’s nomination comes after a successful 2022 season where he won back-to-back major titles at the Australian Open and French Open, becoming the first man to win a 22nd Grand Slam title. Last year he also won ATP titles in Melbourne and Mexico. Nadal is aiming to win the award for the third time in his career after 2011 and 2021.
Nadal’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz is in contention for winning the Breakthrough of the Year Award following his rapid rise in the sport. Last September Alcaraz became the youngest player in history to reach No.1 in the ATP rankings after winning the US Open. Overall, he won five titles last year with two of those being at Masters 1000 events. Alcaraz, who also won the Argentina Open on Sunday, is the youngest player to beat both Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the same tournament.
Challenging Alcaraz for the award will be reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh also recently reached the final of the Australian Open where she lost in three sets to Aryna Sabalenka. 23-year-old Rybakina is currently ranked 10th in the world.
Women’s world No.1 Iga Swiatek is among the candidates for Sportswoman of the Year. The Pole has won nine Tour titles within the past 13 months, including both the French Open and US Open. During the first half of 2022, she won 37 matches in a row which hadn’t been achieved by a female player since Martina Hingis in 1997.
There is one notable absence from the nominations with Novak Djokovic missing the cut. The Serbian won both Wimbledon and the ATP Finals last year but missed a series of other high-profile tournaments due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Athletes shortlisted for a Laureus Awards are decided by a panel of its academy members which are made up of ‘sporting legends.’ The winners are then determined by a public vote.
