Djokovic will compete with Messi and Haaland for the prestigious Laureus award

Next on April 22, the trophy presentation ceremony for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. The most famous athletes in the world, nominated in different categories, will meet there. And tennis was no exception, with several nominees.

Among the nominations for Novak Djokovic became World Athlete of the Year. winning three out of four Grand Slam titles in the 2023 season. The Serbian, a four-time winner of this award (2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019), will compete with footballers Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City). , as well as athletes Mondo Duplantis and Noah Lyles and Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen.

“This year, as always, I am amazed at the quality of the athletes I am nominated with. This is what makes the Laureus Awards so special to us and why we want to win as much as we do when we compete.” – the Serb spoke to the official Laureus website.

Referring to “World Athlete of the Year”tennis representative is the current number one in the world: Iga Swiatek. The Polish woman became the 2023 Roland Garros champion, regained the top of the WTA rankings and established herself at the WTA Finals in Cancun. The women she will compete against are soccer player Aitana Bonmati, skier Mikaela Shiffrin and athletes Faith Kipyegon, Sherika Jackson and Sha’Karri Richardson.

Then there is a reward for “Revelation of the Year”. Won in the last two seasons by tennis players (Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz), who will appear in 2024 to win the trophy, Coco Gauff. The young American, winner of the 2023 US Open, will compete against soccer players Jude Bellingham, Linda Caicedo, Salma Paralluelo, athlete Josh Kerr and swimmer Qin Haiyang.

For him Czech Marketa Vondrousova has been nominated for the World Comeback of the Year award in tennis. After playing very few WTA tournaments in 2022 due to injury problems that took her out of the top positions in the world rankings, she returned in 2023 to become Wimbledon champion, becoming the first unseeded tennis player to do so in the Open era. He will compete for the prize against rugby player Siya Kolisi, gymnast Simone Biles, football player Sebastian Haller, basketball player Jamal Murray and athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

Finally in the category The invincible Dide de Groot was recognized as “Best Athlete of the Year with a Disability”, who extended his wheelchair tennis winning streak to 127 matches, achieving his third consecutive Grand Slam on the calendar, an unmatched achievement in tennis history..And the Rafael Nadal Foundation was nominated for the Sports for Good Award.