The 20-time Major champion
Rafael Nadal secured the second Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year thanks to the last year's Roland Garros performance!
It is the second Laureus honor for Nadal and the first in ten years, as he became the third tennis player with multiple awards after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who are on nine awards combined. Nadal beat Joshua Cheptegei, Armand Duplantis, Lewis Hamilton, LeBron James and Robert Lewandowski in the award chase, lifting the 20th Major title in Paris in October to leave them all behind.
Established in 2000, the Laureus World Sports Award honors the world's most prominent athletes. Tiger Woods won the first two editions of the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year before Michael Schumacher and Lance Armstrong joined him on the list. Roger Federer wrote history with four consecutive awards in his prime years, winning five titles overall and challenged by Usain Bolt and Novak Djokovic, who are on four.
Nadal's nomination for this year's award came as a bit of surprise, trailing over 2000 points to Djokovic at the end of the previous season and not winning enough titles to challenge the Serb.
Rafa's most glorious moment came at Roland Garros in October, winning his 13th trophy in Paris and joining Federer on 20 Majors. That placed Rafa ahead of Novak as the Laureus nominee, and he surpassed all the opponents to secure a colossal honor.