Rafa Nadal will receive the AS Sports Award for the sixth time

Rafa Nadal is the undisputed king of the AS Awards. Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 20, during a dinner at the Hotel Palace in Madrid, will receive the award for the sixth time in a race that seems endless. The entire act and the red carpet can be followed from the 7:30 p.m. on AS.com, Youtube and the newspaper’s social networks.

The Spaniard will once again be the protagonist at the gala in a year that began with many doubts due to his chronic injury to his left foot, which even led him to consider withdrawing, and which ended with the titles in Australia and Roland Garros. The Grand Slams who make numbers 21 and 22 in their career. Roger Federer, who said goodbye in an unforgettable Laver Cup watered in tears by the two great rivals, closed his career with 20. Novak Djokovic, thanks to the Wimbledon title this year, remains on the lookout with 21.

Rafa was chosen AS Sport Award for the first time in 2008, the year of his Olympic gold in Beijingin which he rose to number one in the world for the first time. He also did it in 2010, perhaps his best season, in which he won three Grand Slam titles in Paris, London and New York. Only the defeat in the quarterfinals in Australia, when he retired injured, prevented him from completing the Grand Slam in one year, something that has not been seen in men’s tennis since Rod Laver in 1969.

In 2016, he shared an award with his friend Marc López, who is now also his coach. Together, they won gold in doubles at the Rio 2016 Games, for which they took the Olympic AS Award. I would follow this one in 2017 his coronation as ‘Best Spanish athlete in history’ at the 50th anniversary Gala of AS presided over by the kings Don Felipe and Doña Letizia.

The last award, in 2020, was marked by COVID and masks. That season, after seven months stopped by the pandemic, he was the best in an atypical Roland Garros played in autumn and with the roof covered in the final against Novak Djokovic. But, In addition, the AS Sports Award had a recognition component for the initiative #OurBestWin that he promoted with Pau Gasol and for which 14 million euros were raised for those affected by the coronavirus that alleviated the needs of the Red Cross.

Nadal, a giant for the 16th edition of the Awards.

THE LONGER, LIVE

The Crossbarfrom Cadena SER, will move its study until the Hotel Palace Madrid to continue the Awards party with the broadcast of a special program. The protagonists of the 16th edition of the AS awards, as well as illustrious guests from the world of sports, will go through the microphones of Manu Carreno and the rest of his team from 23:30 hours.