Laureus Awards: Carlos Alcaraz is the climber of the year!
Carlos Alcaraz has won the Laureus World Sports Breakthrough of the Year Award.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
May 08, 2023, 08:49 pm
On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz was still celebrating the successful title defense at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, and a day later the 20-year-old Spaniard was delighted to receive the 2023 Laureus World Sports Breakthrough of the Year Award.
Alcaraz won the US Open last season and ended the year as the world number one. The Iberian has also been convincing so far this season: After missing the Australian Open due to injury, Alcaraz has already won two 1000 tournaments with Indian Wells and Madrid. After the event in Rome, the Iberian will even return to the top of the rankings.
Argentinian footballer Lionel Messi was named Sportsman of the Year, also beating the nominated Rafael Nadal. "I looked at the names of the incredible legends who won the award before me: Schumacher, Woods, Nadal, Federer, Bolt, Hamilton, Djokovic. That's when I realized what incredible company I was in," said the 35 -year-olds.
For women, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, went away empty-handed. The Pole, who won both the French Open and the US Open in 2022, had to yield to Jamaica's sprint ace Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.