Laureus World Sports Awards 2016: Winners, Comments and Reaction

Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams made it a night to remember for tennis at the 2016 Laureus Sports Awards, as they won the respective men’s and women’s versions of this prestigious accolade. 

BBC Sport confirmed the winners from the ceremony. Djokovic, who won three of the four Grand Slam titles available in 2015, beat the likes of Stephen Curry, Usain Bolt and Lionel Messi to the men’s gong. Williams, who also won three of the four major titles, fought off competition from Katie Ledecky, Carli Lloyd and other illustrious names.

Here is the list of winners in full:

Award	Winner	Sport
Sportsman of the Year	Novak Djokovic	Tennis
Sportswoman of the Year	Serena Williams	Tennis
Team of the Year	New Zealand	Rugby Union
Comeback of the Year	Dan Carter	Rugby Union
Breakthrough of the Year	Jordan Spieth	Golf
Disabled Sportsperson of the Year	Daniel Dias	Swimming
Action Sportsperson of the Year	Jan Frodeno	Ironman
Lifetime Achievement Award	Niki Lauda	Formula 1
Spirit of Sport Award	Johan Cruyff	Football

Djokovic posted the following on Twitter after earning the award:

It’s the second year in a row in which he’s picked up the prize, and when you consider the calibre of sportsmen he was up against, that’s a huge testament to his talent. It was also his third win overall, meaning only his rival in the sport, Roger Federer, has been honoured more by Laureus with four gongs.

Not only did Djokovic have strong competition on the night, but he also has strong competition in the sport against the likes of Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. And yet he's been in a position of dominance for a long time. BreatheSport recently put his success into perspective:

"

Djokovic wins #MiamiOpen & overtakes Federer in career prize money:

Djokovic: $98,199,548
Federer: $97,855,881

 pic.twitter.com/j9WyYUJPRA

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) April 3, 2016"

Williams also had a stranglehold at the summit of the game in 2015. While she came short of completing a box set of Grand Slam titles in 2015, the American remains a sensational player.

The 34-year-old has won 21 Grand Slam titles in total, just one behind the great Steffi Graf and three off Margaret Court, who tops the standings. Not many would bet against her matching that top mark with three still to play this year, though, especially as Williams looks to defend the French Open and Wimbledon titles she won last year.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

In other categories, the New Zealand rugby union side were named the Team of the Year after having retained their World Cup with a swagger. The driving force of that tournament, fly-half Dan Carter, was honoured with the Comeback of the Year prize after having missed the 2011 edition because of an injury.

Here are some of Carter’s best moments from the tournament:

Elsewhere, Jordan Spieth had something to smile about in the wake of his dramatic collapse at the Masters, as he received the Breakthrough of the Year Award after having won two major titles in 2015.

Legends of sport were recognised, too, with the Lifetime Achievement Award going to three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda, while Dutch football icon Johan Cruyff, who died of cancer in March, was posthumously honoured with the Spirit of Sport Award.