Novak Djokovic hosted the ceremony held at the Cibeles Palace in Madrid, and several Portuguese guests showed off their class on the red carpet.
The world of sport gathered this Monday at the Cibeles Palace in Madrid for the Laureus Awards ceremony, which honored tennis players Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka as the best athletes of 2025.
The 22=year=old Spanish tennis player had already won the Laureus Award for breakthrough athlete in 2023, and in this edition, he beat the Swede Armand Duplantis, world record holder in pole vault and winner in 2024, who was trying to repeat the feat. The Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar, world and European champion and winner of the Tour de France, was another of the main names on the list of candidates, which also included the Spaniard Marc Márquez, MotoGP world champion.
The other nominees were Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner and French footballer Ousmane Dembele, teammate of Portuguese internationals Gonçalo Ramos, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Vitinha, who was decisive in Paris Saint=Germain’s winning season, most notably their unprecedented Champions League victory.
Meanwhile, Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, currently ranked number one in the world, was awarded the prize for best female athlete of the year. The 27=year=old tennis player beat out Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmatí, who will receive this award in 2024 and has won three Ballon d’Or awards, and American athletes Melissa Jefferson=Wooden, world champion in the 100, 200 and 4×100 meters, and Sydney McLaughlin, world champion in the 400 meters.
The awards ceremony was presented by Novak Djokovic and skier Eileen Gu, who was born in the United States but competes for China.
All the winners of the 2026 edition
Best female athlete: Aryna Sabalenka (tennis)
Best male athlete: Carlos Alcaraz (tennis)
Best young athlete: Lamine Yamal (soccer)
Best team: Paris Saint-Germain (football)
Breakthrough athlete: Lando Norris (motorsports)
Best athlete with a disability: Gabriel Araujo (Paralympic swimming)
