Carlos Alcaraz, Sabalenka Win Laureus Awards 2026 Top Honors

The Laureus World Sports Awards 2026 were held in Madrid, Spain, celebrating global sporting excellence for the year 2025. Tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka won the top awards.

Emerging tennis sensation and Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for his outstanding season, in which he regained the world number 1 ranking and won multiple Grand Slam titles.

At just 22 years of age, he became one of the youngest winners of this prestigious award.

Aryna Sabalenka has also secured, winning the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year title and maintained her dominance throughout the year. She held the WTA top ranking from 1 January to 31 December, 2025, which included WTA 1000 wins in Miami and Madrid.

For the first time in the history of these awards, the ceremony was co-hosted by two athletes - five-time Laureus winner Novak Djokovic and Olympic freestyle skiing champion Eileen Gu.

India and the Laureus World Sports Awards

After winning their first Women's ODI World Cup in 2025, the Indian women's cricket team has been nominated for the Laureus World Team of the Year award.

This is the first time that any women's cricket team has been shortlisted in this category.

So far, very few Indian athletes have been nominated in the individual performance categories of Laureus.

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat became the first athlete to do so in the year 2019; after recovering from a serious knee injury, she was shortlisted for 'World Comeback of the Year'.

After that, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was nominated for 'World Breakthrough of the Year' in the year 2022, while cricketer Rishabh Pant was nominated in the 'World Comeback' category in the year 2025 after recovering from a life-threatening car accident.

So far, no Indian athlete has won any individual performance award in the Laureus World Sports Awards; India received its only major honor in the year 2020 in the fan-voted category as Sachin Tendulkar's 'Sporting Moment'.

This win of Tendulkar was titled "Carried on the Shoulders of a Nation". It is associated with that memorable moment when after winning the 2011 World Cup, his teammates lifted him on their shoulders and carried him around the Wankhede Stadium. It was chosen as the best sporting moment of the last two decades.

Laureus World Sports Awards 2026 Winners List

Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award: Carlos Alcaraz

Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award: Aryna Sabalenka

Laureus World Team of the Year Award: Paris Saint-Germain

Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award: Lando Norris

Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award: Rory McIlroy

Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award: Gabriel Araujo

Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award: Chloe Kim

Laureus World Young Sportsperson of the Year Award: Lamine Yamal

Laureus Sporting Inspiration Award: Toni Kroos

Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award: Nadia Comaneci

Laureus Sport for Good Award: Football Mass