The Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of those individuals or teams who have made a comeback performance in the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards. The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people. The first ceremony was held on 25 May 2000 in Monte Carlo, at which Nelson Mandela gave the keynote speech. As of 2021, a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters". The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the individual winner or winning team who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world. The awards are considered highly prestigious and are frequently referred to as the sporting equivalent of the "Oscars".

The inaugural winner of the award was American road cyclist Lance Armstrong. Having recovered from testicular cancer, which had spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen, he returned to cycling in 1998 and won the 1999 Tour de France. Following Armstrong's 2013 admission of doping, all his Laureus awards and nominations were rescinded. As of 2023, the award has been won by a different individual sportsperson every year (seven to women, seventeen to men), although elevens teams have been nominated – the England men's cricket team (2005), Miami Heat (2007), the Great Britain national rugby league team (2008), Crusaders (2012), Queensland Reds (2012), European Ryder Cup Team (2013), Germany Men's Olympic Eights Team (2013), Oracle Team USA (2014), FC Barcelona (2018), Chapecoense (2018) and Liverpool F.C. (2022). Tennis players dominate the winners list, with seven awards, while athletes, golfers and rugby union players have won twice. The 2024 winner of the award was the American artistic gymnast Simone Biles.

List of winners and nominees

Key

*	Indicates individual whose award or nomination was later rescinded

Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year winners and nominees

Year	Image	Winner	Nationality	Sport	Nominees	Refs
2000		Lance Armstrong*	USA	Cycling	Andre Agassi ( USA) – tennis Ludmila Engquist ( SWE) – athletics
2001		Jennifer Capriati	USA	Tennis	Heike Drechsler ( GER) – athletics Janica Kostelić ( CRO) – alpine skiing Mario Lemieux ( CAN) – ice hockey Dara Torres ( USA) – swimming
2002		Goran Ivanišević	CRO	Tennis	John Daly ( USA) – golf Michael Jordan ( USA) – basketball Bernhard Langer ( GER) – golf Mario Lemieux ( CAN) – ice hockey
2003		Ronaldo	BRA	Football	Janica Kostelić ( CRO) – alpine skiing Hermann Maier ( AUT) – alpine skiing Pete Sampras ( USA) – tennis Franziska van Almsick ( GER) – swimming
2004		Hermann Maier	AUT	Alpine skiing	Fred Couples ( USA) – golf Inge de Bruijn ( NED) – swimming Peter Forsberg ( SWE) – ice hockey Martina Navratilova ( USA) – tennis Alex Zanardi ( ITA) – auto racing
2005		Alex Zanardi	ITA	Auto racing	John Daly ( USA) – golf England Men's Cricket Team ( ENG) – cricket Tadahiro Nomura ( JPN) – judo Paula Radcliffe ( ENG) – athletics Shane Warne ( AUS) – cricket
2006		Martina Hingis	SUI	Tennis	Kajsa Bergqvist ( SWE) – athletics Kim Clijsters ( BEL) – tennis Antoine Dénériaz ( FRA) – alpine skiing Jonah Lomu ( NZL) – rugby union Colin Montgomerie ( SCO) – golf
2007		Serena Williams	USA	Tennis	Drew Brees ( USA) – American football Ben Curtis ( USA) – golf Roy Jones Jr. ( USA) – boxing Miami Heat ( USA) – basketball Zinedine Zidane ( FRA) – football
2008		Paula Radcliffe	GBR	Athletics	Christine Ohuruogu ( GBR) – athletics Great Britain national rugby league team ( GBR) – rugby league Jana Rawlinson ( AUS) – athletics Steve Stricker ( USA) – golf Jonny Wilkinson ( GBR) – rugby union
2009		Vitali Klitschko	UKR	Boxing	Anna Meares ( AUS) – cycling Greg Norman ( AUS) – golf Matthias Steiner ( GER) – weightlifting Maarten van der Weijden ( NED) – swimming Tiger Woods ( USA) – golf
2010		Kim Clijsters	BEL	Tennis	Lance Armstrong* ( USA) – cycling Jessica Ennis ( GBR) – athletics Brett Favre ( USA) – American football Blanka Vlašić ( CRO) – athletics Tom Watson ( USA) – golf
2011		Valentino Rossi	ITA	MotoGP	Carolina Klüft ( SWE) – athletics Merlene Ottey ( SLO) – athletics Tyson Gay ( USA) – athletics Justine Henin ( BEL) – tennis Paula Creamer ( USA) – golf
2012		Darren Clarke	GBR	Golf	Crusaders ( NZL) – rugby union Eric Abidal ( FRA) – football Queensland Reds ( AUS) – rugby union Liu Xiang ( CHN) – athletics Sergio García ( ESP) – golf
2013		Félix Sánchez	DOM	Athletics	Anna Meares ( AUS) – cycling Ernie Els ( RSA) – golf Europe Ryder Cup Team ( Europe) – golf Germany Men's Olympic Eights Team ( GER) – rowing Tirunesh Dibaba ( ETH) – athletics
2014		Rafael Nadal	ESP	Tennis	Yelena Isinbayeva ( RUS) – athletics Oracle Team USA ( USA) – sailing Tony Parker ( FRA) – basketball Ronaldinho ( BRA) – football Tiger Woods ( USA) – golf
2015		Schalk Burger	RSA	Rugby union	Francesco Acerbi ( ITA) – football Diego Milito ( ARG) – football Jo Pavey ( GBR) – athletics Pierre Vaultier ( FRA) – snowboarding Oliver Wilson ( GBR) – golf
2016		Dan Carter	NZL	Rugby union	Jessica Ennis-Hill ( GBR) – athletics Mick Fanning ( AUS) – surfing Michael Phelps ( USA) – swimming David Rudisha ( KEN) – athletics Lindsey Vonn ( USA) – alpine skiing
2017		Michael Phelps	USA	Swimming	Ruth Beitia ( ESP) – athletics Juan Martín del Potro ( ARG) – tennis Fabienne St Louis ( MUS) – triathlon Nick Skelton ( GBR) – equestrian Aksel Lund Svindal ( NOR) – alpine skiing
2018		Roger Federer	SUI	Tennis	FC Barcelona ( ESP) – football Justin Gatlin ( USA) – athletics Sally Pearson ( AUS) – athletics Valentino Rossi ( ITA) – MotoGP Chapecoense ( BRA) – football
2019		Tiger Woods	USA	Golf	Vinesh Phogat ( IND) – freestyle wrestling Yuzuru Hanyu ( JPN) – figure skating Mark McMorris ( CAN) – snowboarding Lindsey Vonn ( USA) – alpine skiing Bibian Mentel-Spee ( NED) – para-snowboarding
2020		Sophia Flörsch	GER	Auto racing	Andy Murray ( GBR) – tennis Christian Lealiifano ( AUS) – rugby union Kawhi Leonard ( USA) – basketball Liverpool F.C. ( GBR) – football Nathan Adrian ( USA) – swimming
2021	–	Max Parrot	CAN	Snowboarding	Daniel Bard ( USA) – baseball Kento Momota ( JPN) – badminton Alex Morgan ( USA) – football Mikaela Shiffrin ( USA) – alpine skiing Alex Smith ( USA) – American football
2022		Sky Brown	GBR	Skateboarding	Simone Biles ( USA) – gymnastics Mark Cavendish ( GBR) – cycling Tom Daley ( GBR) – diving Marc Márquez ( ESP) – MotoGP Annemiek van Vleuten ( NED) – cycling
2023		Christian Eriksen	DEN	Football	Annemiek van Vleuten ( NLD) – cycling Francesco Bagnaia ( ITA) – MotoGP Jakob Ingebrigtsen ( NOR) – athletics Klay Thompson ( USA) – basketball Tiger Woods ( USA) – golf
2024		Simone Biles	USA	Gymnastics	Katarina Johnson-Thompson ( GBR) – athletics Siya Kolisi ( RSA) – rugby sevens Sébastien Haller ( CIV) – association football Jamal Murray ( CAN) – basketball Marketa Vondrousova ( CZE) – tennis

Statistics

Statistics are correct as of 2024 awards.