Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu have both been nominated to win the awards at the 2022 ESPYs, which honors individual athletes and sports teams for their performances in the last 12 months.
Nadal has been recognized for his incredible work in the first half of the season, during which he won his second Australian Open and 14th French Open. He will bid to win the Best Athlete in Men's Tennis category.
Despite his documented foot injury, the Spaniard has been a fine performer on the men's tour in 2024 and could still add a third Grand Slam title.
Other contenders for the award include Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who led his country to the ATP Cup success in January while also capturing his first ATP title in Rotterdam. Another breakout star is Carlos Alcaraz, who won two Masters 1000 events this year while breaking into the Top 10.
Competition is fierce for the Best Athlete in the Women's Tennis category. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek dominated the WTA Tour this season, sweeping six titles already, including her second Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
Swiatek will be joined in the list of nominees by the retired Ashleigh Barty, who won this year's Australian Open and was ranked No. 1 before she hung up her racket, Emma Raducanu, and Leylah Fernandez.
Barty's retirement will mean she won't contend seriously for the award, having had an overall better year last season. Emma Raducanu is on the list because of her groundbreaking success at the 2021 US Open, where she lifted the title after winning ten matches (from qualifying).
Leylah Fernandez also impressed at last year's US Open, where she reached the final but lost the ultimate prize to Raducanu. She is currently out of action because of a foot injury. It will be a fascinating battle, and we will see who will come out on top, but for now, Swiatek appears to be the favorite to win it.