Laureus World Sports Awards

The Laureus World Sports Awards are one of the most prestigious honours in world sport, celebrating annually the best athletes, teams, and individual sporting achievements across all disciplines.

The awards were launched in 1999 by a global alliance of companies, and the first ceremony was held in Monte Carlo, with the support of several sports legends, most notably Nelson Mandela.

Main award categories

  • World Sportsman of the Year

  • World Sportswoman of the Year

  • World Team of the Year

  • Breakthrough Sportsperson of the Year (young / emerging talent)

  • Exceptional Sporting Achievement Award

  • Laureus for Sport in Society (sport for good / social‑impact sport)

These awards are regarded as sport’s equivalent of the Oscars, because they combine a global nomination process with a final vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, composed of many of the greatest retired and current athletes in history.

World Sports Awards 2026 winners (honouring performances in 2025), as announced at the ceremony in Madrid on 20 April 2026:

Main categories

  • World Sportsman of the Year:
    Carlos Alcaraz (Tennis, Spain) – World No.1, 2025 French Open and US Open champion, and year‑end top‑ranked player.

  • World Sportswoman of the Year:
    Aryna Sabalenka (Tennis, Belarus) – World No.1, multiple Grand Slam titles and dominant season.

  • World Team of the Year:
    Paris Saint‑Germain (PSG) – Honoured after a dominant 2025 campaign in which they won six major trophies across all competitions.

  • Breakthrough Sportsperson of the Year:
    Lando Norris (Formula 1, Great Britain) – Recognised for his rapid rise and strong performances in F1.

  • World Young Sportsperson of the Year:
    Lamine Yamal (Football, Spain / Barcelona) – 18‑year‑old forward celebrated for his explosive impact at Barça and for the national team.

  • Action Sportsperson of the Year:
    Chloe Kim (Snowboarding, USA) – Awarded a third Laureus in this category for her excellence in snowboard halfpipe.

  • Sport for Good Award (Sport in Society):
    Given to organisations or athletes whose work uses sport to drive social change and community development (exact 2026 winner varies by year, but often a global grassroots‑sports project).

Tennis stars led the night, with Alcaraz and Sabalenka becoming the first top‑ranked men’s and women’s players in the same year to win the Laureus “Sportsperson of the Year” awards.

If you tell me whether you want this simplified into an Arabic news‑style paragraph or a table of the last 3–5 years of winners, I can format that for you.