Tennis has always featured strongly in the ‘Oscars of Sport’, the Laureus World Sports Awards, and this year is no exception.
World No1 Novak Djokovic is in the Sportsman of the Year shortlist, Nos 1 and 2 Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber are both nominated in the Sportswoman of the Year list, Naomi Osaka is in the Breakthrough category, and Diede de Groot is in the Disability shortlist.
Football is also well represented. World Cup winners France are in contention for Team of the Year, while stars of the tournament Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric receive nominations in the Sportsman category.
Pyeong Chang Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games medallists also feature heavily, with Ester Ledecka and Mikaela Shiffrin nominated for Sportswoman of the Year, the Norway Winter Olympic Team recognised in the Team category, and Sophia Goggia listed among the nominees for Breakthrough of the Year.
In contention for the Comeback of the Year are Winter Olympic medallists Yuzuru Hanyu, Mark McMorris, Bibian Mentel-Spee, and Lindsey Vonn, while Paralympic gold medallists Henrieta Farkasova, Brian McKeever and Oksana Masters are nominated for the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.
British nominees
There are just two British nominations this year: Lewis Hamilton and Geraint Thomas.
Hamilton won 11 Grand Prix during the year and, with fellow driver Valtteri Bottas, secured for Mercedes AMG Petronas their fifth straight Constructors World Championship and a nomination for the Team of the Year Award, which they won last year.
Also nominated is GB’s latest cycling hero, Geraint Thomas, winner of the Tour de France. Thomas first competed in the Tour in 2007 and finally won it in 2018, at the age of 32, and has been nominated for the Breakthrough of the Year Award.
List of nominees
The shortlists for the Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during 2018, are compiled from a ballot of the world’s sporting media. The winners are voted for by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 66 of the greatest sportsmen and sportswomen of all time headed by Chairman Edwin Moses.
The winners will be revealed in Monaco on 18 February.
Laureus Sportsman of Year
Novak Djokovic, Tennis
Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1
Lebron James, Basketball
Eliud Kipchoge, Athletics
Kylian Mbappe, Football
Luka Modric, Football
Laureus Sportswoman of Year
Simone Biles, Gymnastics
Simona Halep, Tennis
Angelique Kerber, Tennis
Ester Ledecka, Skiing/Snowboarding
Daniela Ryf, Ironman Triathlon
Mikaela Shiffrin, Skiing
Laureus Breakthrough of Year
Ana Carrasco, Motor Cycling
Sofia Goggia, Skiing
Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Athletics
Naomi Osaka, Tennis
Geraint Thomas, Cycling
Briana Williams, Athletics
Laureus Team of Year
European Ryder Cup Team, Golf
France Men’s Football Team
Golden State Warriors, Basketball
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team
Norway Winter Olympic Team
Real Madrid, Football
Laureus Comeback of Year
Yuzuru Hanyu, Figure Skating
Mark McMorris, Snowboarding
Bibian Mentel-Spee, Snowboarding
Vinish Phogat, Wrestling
Lindsey Vonn, Skiing
Tiger Woods, Golf
Laureus Sportsperson of Year with a Disability
Henrieta Farkasova, Skiing
Diede de Groot, Tennis
Brian McKeever, Cross-country Skiing
Oksana Masters, Cross-country Skiing
Grigorios Polychronidis, Boccia
Markus Rehm, Athletics
Laureus Action Sportsperson of Year
Maya Gabeira, Surfing
Anna Gasser, Snowboarding
Stephanie Gilmore, Surfing
Chloe Kim, Snowboarding
Gabriel Medina, Surfing
Shaun White, Snowboarding
While celebrating the greatest sporting successes of the year, the Laureus Awards Ceremony also showcases the work of Laureus Sport for Good, which uses the power of sport to end violence, discrimination and disadvantage, proving that sport can change the world. Today Laureus supports more than 100 programmes, in around 40 countries.