Novak Djokovic salutes arch-rival Rafael Nadal for achieving rare Laureus honor
Novak Djokovic sent his arch-rival Rafael Nadal an encouraging message after the Spaniard achieved a rare feat at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards. The two men shared one of the most prolific rivalries in sporting history, which came to a close last year when Nadal hung up his racket.
At the prestigious award ceremony, the 22-time Major champion became only the second man to be awarded the Laureus Sporting Icon Award, after Valentino Rossi. The room rose to give a standing ovation to the Spanish legend, and a clip of his arch-rival applauding his speech also made rounds on social media later.
Djokovic sent a heartfelt message to his arch-rival, with whom he shares so much history, talking about how he deserved the honor for his influence, not just the sporting fraternity, but many other areas of life.
"Everyone knows of his greatness on a tennis court and what he has achieved with his great fighting spirit, tenacity. But I think as the time went on, and the injuries that he was fighting with, the never-dying spirit that he showed and the good respecting values. So I think he is definitely the right person to receive this award no doubt because of his success but also his influence extends and expands on so many areas in life, not just tennis and not just sports in general."
He then shared an image of this message on his Instagram story and congratulated his rival.
"Felicidades @rafaelnadal🙌🏼🙌🏼."
Not only Nadal, but the Serb is one of the last few members from his generation still playing, having seen Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and others retire. Funnily enough, Murray is now his coach as well.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion recently talked about what keeps him motivated to compete at the highest level.
"If I'm not motivated, I'm not here" - Novak Djokovic opens up about what keeps him going
When asked if he had lost any motivation after the retirement of his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic said he still had a passion to perform his best tennis and was motivated to do better at Grand Slams, where he is looking to win an unprecedented 25th title.
"Maybe so, but if I'm not motivated, I'm not here. I don't play anymore. I put the racket to rest. I still feel the desire to play, the passion to compete is always there. I hope to push harder. The Grand Slams are tournaments where I have more motivation to do well," Djokovic said via Eurosport.
Novak Djokovic has arrived for the 2025 Madrid Masters after taking some time to recuperate from his early Monte-Carlo Masters exit.