Tennis was the winner on Monday night in Madrid—even outside of the confines of the Caja Mágica.
At the annual Laureus World Sports Awards, held in the Spanish capital to celebrate sporting excellence and inspire future greatness in the next generation of athletes, Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka took home the top prizes of World Sportsman of the Year and World Sportswoman of the Year, respectively.
The celebration was co-hosted by five-time Sportsman of the Year Novak Djokovic and Olympic skiing sensation Eileen Gu, and the WTA’s consensus top player said she had “goosebumps” knowing that her name would be among not just other tennis greats, but legends of sport overall, with her latest honor.
“When I see the list of winners from previous years, it makes me feel a little bit crazy to know that my name is going to be next to those legends, those athletes that I watched, I looked up to, but also, a little bit emotional … and speechless right now. This is big,” she said.
“In all the sports, there are so many great strong, powering, inspiring women who do incredible, inspiring things, and to receive this award means a lot.”
