Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka claim top honours at 2026 Laureus World Sports Awards

Tennis owned the top of the bill Monday evening (20 April) at the Laureus World Sports Awards, held at Cibeles Palace in Madrid.

Paris 2024 silver medallist Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, were named Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, respectively, each claiming the prize for the first time in their careers.

Alcaraz's rivalry with Jannik Sinner has defined and dominated men's tennis, and the Spaniard's 2025 haul – which included wins at the French and U.S. Opens – earned him the nod here.

“To receive this recognition from people who understand sports so deeply, it makes it even more meaningful,” said Alcaraz as he accepted his award. “This is a night I will never forget, a moment I will keep in my heart forever.”

Sabalenka, the world No. 1, was honoured after another year of dominance on the WTA Tour that saw her pick up her fourth Grand Slam win at the 2025 U.S. Open.

“I’m shaking right now,” she said. “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.”

The 2026 award ceremony was hosted by sporting greats and Olympic champions Novak Djokovic and Eileen Gu.

PSG takes team of the year; Norris, McIlroy, Kim among award winners

There was French glory in the team category.

Paris Saint-Germain was named Laureus World Team of the Year on the back of the club's first UEFA Champions League title during the 2024-25 season.

Formula One racer Lando Norris, the World Drivers' Championship winner, earned Breakthrough of the Year, while Rory McIlroy, a two-time Olympian, collected Comeback of the Year following his long-awaited Masters victory, after years of near-misses.

Brazil's Gabriel Araújo, the three-time Paris 2024 Paralympic swimming champion, was honoured as Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

American Chloe Kim, who has dominated women's halfpipe for the better part of a decade, took Action Sportsperson of the Year, and Lamine Yamal, 18, the Barcelona and Spain forward, was crowned Young Sportsperson of the Year.

The Sporting Inspiration Award went to footballer Toni Kroos of Germany.

Fútbol Más, an organisation aimed at using football to support children in vulnerable communities, took the Sport for Good Award.

Fifty years on, Nadia Comăneci honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award

And, then, there was Nadia Comăneci.

The Romanian, forever the face of the Olympic Games Montreal 1976 and recipient of the first perfect 10.0 in Olympic gymnastics history, received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award.

At 14 years old, Comăneci left Montreal with three gold medals, a silver and a bronze and global fame after she transformed her sport. Four years later, she added two more Olympic titles (and two silver medals) at Moscow 1980.

Comăneci remains among the defining gymnasts in the sport’s rich history.

“When I had to go on the uneven bars, I didn’t feel that shaky,” said Comăneci, who received the award from Olympic champion gymnasts Simone Biles and Bart Conner, Comăneci’s husband of 30 years. “I was just a little girl who followed her passion. Seventeen seconds of my life at the Olympics changed everything.”

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