Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu among tennis players nominated for Laureus World Sports Awards
Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu are among the few tennis players to have been nominated for this year's Laureus World Sports Awards.
Djokovic has been nominated for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year along with Tom Brady (NFL), Caeleb Dressel (swimming), Eliud Kipchoge (athletics), Max Verstappen (F1) and Robert Lewandowski (football).
Djokovic is yet to play in 2022 but had an impressive 2021 season during which he reached the final of all four Grand Slams, losing only at the US Open. He also won the Paris Masters and finished with 55 wins from 62 matches.
Djokovic has previously been adjudged Laureus World Sportsman of the Year four times. If he wins again, he will equal Roger Federer's tally of five Laureus victories.
Women's World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty has been nominated for Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year along with Allyson Felix (athletics), Alexia Putellas (football), Elaine Thompson Herah (athletics), Emma McKeon (swimming) and Katie Ledecky (swimming).
The Aussie won Wimbledon last year along with titles in Miami and Cincinnati. She has enjoyed a brilliant start to 2022, winning the Australian Open without dropping a set.
If Barty wins, she will become the fifth tennis player to win this award, the others being Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams, Justine Henin and Naomi Osaka. She would also become the first Australian to win the award since sprinter Cathy Freeman in 2001.
The Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award has two tennis nominees in Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu. Others nominated in the category include Neeraj Chopra, Pedri Gonzalez, Yulimar Rojas and Ariarne Titmus.
Medvedev had an impressive 2021 season during which he won the US Open and Toronto Masters. The Russian also reached the final of the Australian Open, Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
Raducanu was a surprise revelation last year, winning the US Open without dropping a set. Ranked 150th in the world at the time, the teenager became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Diede de Groot and Shingo Kunieda nominated for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award
Wheelchair tennis players Diede de Groot and Shingo Kunieda have both been nominated for the Laureus Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award. Other nominees include Marcel Hug (wheelchair athletics), Jetze Plat (Paratriathlon), Susana Rodriguez (Paratriathlon) and Sarah Storey (Para Cycling).
De Groot had an outstanding 2021 season during which she became the first wheelchair tennis player to complete the Golden Slam, winning all four Majors as well as Paralympic gold. Kunieda also won a gold medal at the Paralympic Games along with the US Open.
If De Groot or Kunieda win the award, they will become the first wheelchair tennis player to achieve the feat since Esther Vergeer in 2002.