Men's tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for the fifth time in his career. The Joker ended 2023 with three Grand Slam titles - Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open - losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. The Serbian has a record 24 Slam titles and won the honor for the fifth time after 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2019.
"It's an extraordinary honor to win the Laureus Sportsman of the Year award for the fifth time. I go back to 2012 when I got it for the first time - I was 24 at the time. I am very proud to be here again 12 years later. The past year has brought me and my fans a lot of excitement and success. It was great to come back to Australia last January and pick up my tenth title. This is a tournament that is very close to my heart and has put me in an excellent starting position for an incredible 12 months. I wouldn't have achieved all this success if I didn't have an amazing team behind me and inspiring opponents who always pushed me to be the best version of myself on the court. The Laureus Awards are so special because they represent the recognition of the 69 world-class athletes who enter the Laureus World Sports Academy. To receive the votes of my sporting heroes makes these awards so highly regarded in all sports", Djokovic, 36, said.
Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won the Women's Sportswoman of the Year award, becoming the first female footballer to win the award. She triumphed in League F and the Champions League with Barcelona last year, becoming world champions with Spain. In addition, Bonmati won the Golden Boot at the Women's World Cup and became the winner of the Ballon d'Or.
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has hailed the Breakthrough of the Year award after a superb start to his spell in Spain. The England international has scored 10 goals in his first ten games since joining Real from Borussia Dortmund last summer, and on Sunday he scored Real's winner in another edition of El Clasico against Barcelona.
All Laureus Award Winners:
Sportsman of the Year: Novak Djokovic
Sportswoman of the year: Aitana Bonmati
Team of the Year: Spain women's national football team
Breakthrough of the Year: Jude Bellingham
Comeback of the Year: Simone Biles
Sport for Good: The Rafael Nadal Foundation
Disabled Sports Personality of the Year: Dide de Groot
Attractive Sports Personality of the Year: Arisa True. /BGNES
