'It's been a great year', Emma Raducanu awarded Breakthrough of the Year at Laureus Sports Awards

Emma Raducanu scooped another award on Sunday evening, as she was named Breakthrough of the Year during the Laureus World Sports Awards. After upsetting the odds to come through qualifying at last year's US Open, Raducanu stunned the world by going on to win the tournament. In doing so, the then-18-year-old became the first British woman to lift a Grand Slam title since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon back in 1977. Raducanu hasn't enjoyed the best start to 2022 after early exits from the Australian Open and Indian Wells, but Sunday's award is a reminder to the 19-year-old of her fascinating achievements at such a young age.

After bowing out of the Stuttgart Open earlier this week, Raducanu can now take the confidence from her award to next month's French Open, where she can look to piece together another deep run in a Grand Slam tournament. After receiving her prestigious Laureus award at a digital ceremony hosted from Seville, Raducanu said: "It has been a great year for me. "Thank you to all the Laureus Academy Members for voting for me. I really want to congratulate all the other nominees too." Aside from Raducanu, Formula One world champion Max Verstappen was named the Laureus World Sportsman, while Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah scooped the World Sportswoman of the Year.

Italy were voted the Team of the Year following their Euro 2020 victory last summer, despite failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup this winter. Elsewhere, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady was honoured with the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award, and Poland's Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski received the Exceptional Achievement Award, having broken Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga scoring record.

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