Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu were announced as the two tennis winners at the 2022 ESPYS Awards. Nadal, 36, has won two Grand Slams this season despite chronic foot pain.
On the other side, Raducanu wrote tennis history by becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam at the US Open last year.
Nadal, who was nominated alongside Dylan Alcott, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime for the ESPY Award for Best Male Tennis Athlete, won the award. Nadal now has three ESPY awards to his credit.
On the other side, Raducanu beat out Iga Swiatek, Ashleigh Barty and Leylah Fernandez for the ESPY Top Female Tennis Athlete award.
Nadal and Raducanu prepare for US tour
Nadal, who had to drop Nick Kyrgios in their Wimbledon semi-final, appears to have recovered from an abdominal injury and is set to compete at the Montreal Masters in early August.
“Nadal really wants to come to Montreal and his hotel rooms are already booked,” revealed Montreal tournament director Eugene Lapierre last week.
“He’s been sent a crate of balls to use during the tournament to prepare. He’s expected to return to training on Monday.” Meanwhile, Raducanu is set to kick off his summer hard-court tour at the Citi Open in Washington.
After a second-round elimination at Wimbledon, Raducanu faced further criticism for his play and results. John McEnroe, a former seven-time Grand Slam champion, came to Raducanu’s defense.
Raducanu has faced a lot of criticism for his results after the US Open, but John McEnroe feels some of that criticism is unfair. “Don’t ask if Raducanu is going to become a good player because she is already a great player,” McEnroe told Tennis365.
“Nobody wins a major if they’re not a great player and I hope she believes in that, but a lot has changed for her since then.”
