World No.1’s Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been shortlisted for the upcoming Laureus World Sports Awards in Berlin.
Established in 2000, the annual awards ceremony celebrates the best sporting achievements in the world. The ceremony consists of seven categories, with a panel of over 2000 journalists around the world voting for which sportsperson should be shortlisted for the awards. Categories include Sportsman Of The Year and Team Of The Year. The winners are decided by the Laureus member panel, a group consisting of 55 members including Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova, Steve Redgrave and Sebastian Coe.
Novak Djokovic has been shortlisted for Sportsman Of The Year. Last year the world No.1 won the honor for the first time in his career. The Serbian produced a win-loss of 86-6 during 2015 to become the first tennis player in history to earn over $20 million in prize money within one season. Last year he won 11 titles, including three grand slam championships. Other nominees in the category include footballer Lionel Messi and athlete Usian Bolt.
Serena Williams is nominated for the Sportswoman Of The Year award. The American claimed three consecutive grand slam titles in 2015 before suffering an unexpected semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci at the US Open. In addition to her grand slam success, the world No.1 also claimed titles in Miami and Cincinnati.
The British Davis Cup team has also been shortlisted for the team of the year category. Last year they defeated Belgium in the final to win their first Davis Cup title since 1936. Headlined by Andy Murray, the team received an award in December in their home country at the prestigious BBC Sports Personality Of The Year awards for team of the year. Other nominees include FC Barcelona (football), the All Blacks (New Zealand rugby team) and the Golden State Warriors (basketball).
Tennis has enjoyed multiple success at the awards since the birth of the event. Roger Federer won the Sportsman Of The Year award for four consecutive years (2005-2008). Other former winners at the awards includes Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Li Na, Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters.
The 2016 awards will be held in Berlin, Germany on April 18th.
