Tennis dots Laureus Awards' horizon as Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka receive nominations

Tennis has had a strong representation in the Laureus Sports Awards. This year, too, is no different from the likes of 19-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, and two-time Major champion Naomi Osaka receiving nominations. The Awards are to be held on Monday in Berlin, Germany. Roger Federer holds the most number of Laureus Awards with six, his last coming as recently as in 2018 following his stellar comeback in 2017, after a six-month injury lay-off in 2016. 

Nadal has been nominated for the Sportsman of the Year award with F1 racer Lewis Hamilton, fellow Spaniard and MotoCross rider Marc Marquez, American golfer Tiger Woods alongside soccer giant, Lionel Messi.

In 2019, Novak Djokovic received the award. Djokovic won his 17th Slam at the Australian Open this year beating Dominic Thiem in the final.   

Among the women, tennis' nomination comes through Naomi Osaka who has been nominated in the Sportswoman of the year category. Other nominees include American soccer captain Megan Rapinoe, American athlete Simone Biles in gymnastics, the United States' Mikaela Shiffrin in skiing, and track and field specialist Allyson Felix in athletics.

Osaka is a former world no. 1. Her two Major titles came at the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open. She defeated Serena Williams to win her first Major and Petra Kvitova to win her second. Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion herself, while Williams is seeking to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Slams. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SyRuui