Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic became a five-time winner of the prestigious Laureus award, which is rightly called the “sports Oscar”. The awards ceremony was held on April 22 in Madrid. RBC.ru reports this.
Djokovic beat out such stars as Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Max Verstappen, Armand Duplantis and Noah Lyles in this prestigious category.
This is Djokovic's fifth Laureus award, making him the second most in this category. The record belongs to the Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, who has 6 awards (5 as athlete of the year and 1 for “Comeback of the Year”).
It is worth noting that this year the “Sportswoman of the Year” award was received by the Spanish football player Aitana Bonmati, who became the world champion.
The following awards were also presented:
“Team of the Year” - Spain women's national football team;
“Breakthrough of the Year” “Real Madrid” and England midfielder Jude Bellingham;
“Comeback of the Year” - four-time Olympic champion American Simone Biles;
“Disabled Athlete of the Year” - Dutch tennis player Diede de Groot, who won 39 Grand Slam tournaments among wheelchair users;
“Sport for Good” - Rafael Nadal Foundation;
“Extreme Sports Athlete of the Year”: 14 years old Australian skateboarder Arisa Trew.
The Laureus is a prestigious award, awarded annually since 2000 for outstanding achievements in various sports. The award is a 30-centimeter figurine made of gold and silver, created by the jewelry house Cartier.