Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marketa Vondrousova, and Diede de Groot are women’s tennis players nominated in four different categories of the total seven featured in the 25th Laureus World Sports Awards.
Four-time major champion Iga Swiatek of Poland is nominated for the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, alongside Aitana Bonmati (football, Spain), Shericka Jackson (athletics, Jamaica), Faith Kipyegon (athletics, Kenya), Sha’Carri Richardson (athletics, USA), and Mikaela Shiffrin (skiing, USA).
Coco Gauff of the USA, the reigning US Open champion, earned her first Laureus nomination for Breakthrough of the Year. Her competition in the category are Jude Bellingham (football, UK), Linda Caicedo (football, Colombia), Qin Haiyang (swimming, China), Josh Kerr (athletics, UK), and Salma Paralluelo (football, Spain).
Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic secured a spot on the Laureus Comeback of the Year ballot by triumphing at Wimbledon last summer, a remarkable achievement following her recovery from wrist surgery in 2022. Her victory made her the first unseeded woman to claim the title at the All England Club in the Open Era. Other athletes nominated in this category are Simone Biles (gymnastics, USA), Katarina Johnson-Thompson (athletics, UK), Siya Kolisi (rugby, South Africa), Sebastien Haller (football, Ivory Coast), and Jamal Murray (basketball, Canada).
Diede de Groot representing the Netherlands is nominated for the third time for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
When it comes to men’s tennis, only Novak Djokovic of Serbia made the list, nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, alongside other five male athletes from football, motor racing, and athletics. The ATP legend is in pursuit of his fifth honor.
Tennis has a storied history of success at the Laureus World Sports Awards over the past two decades. Roger Federer stands out as the most decorated recipient, having clinched six awards in total, including five for Sportsman of the Year and one for Comeback of the Year. Similarly, Serena Williams has been a dominant force, securing five awards, with four for Sportswoman of the Year and one for Comeback of the Year.
The awards ceremony will take place in Madrid on April 22. The exact venue is one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the Palacio de Cibeles, a remarkable structure designed by the prolific architect partnership of Antonio Palacios and Joaquin Otamendi.
