Carlos Alcaraz has been awarded the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the second time. The world number one beat Felix Auger-Aliassime, Grigor Dimitrov and Casper Ruud and received the award, which honors his behavior on and off the pitch. Carlos had already been a winner once in 2023.
The award, named after Swedish tennis legend Stefan Edberg, is given to the player who has demonstrated particular professionalism and integrity. For the first time in the history of the prize, which has been awarded since 1977, only former world number one will decide the winner in 2025.
An example of Alcaraz’s sportsmanship was seen at the French Open when he made a mistake against himself in the fourth round against Ben Shelton. Such gestures convinced the International Tennis Writers’ Association and strengthened his candidacy.
Federer remains the record winner, Alcaraz is expanding his reputation
With the award, Carlos once again joins the list of big names. Roger Federer holds the record with 13 wins. He won every year from 2004 to 2017 except 2010, when Rafael Nadal was honored. Nadal won a total of five awards. In recent years, Casper Ruud (2022) and Grigor Dimitrov (2024) have been the winners.
For Carlos, the Sportsmanship Award is just another highlight in a strong season. He finished the year ranked world No. 1 and won two more Grand Slam titles.
Alcaraz received the news while in Miami, where he was playing in an invitational tournament. There he initially lost to Frances Tiafoe in New Jersey, but the following day he defeated Joao Fonseca 7:5, 2:6, 10:8 at the Miami Marlins stadium.
Before the match, Alcaraz praised his Brazilian opponent: “Joao has come into the tour with a lot of momentum, he has a great game and it should be a very entertaining match.” Speaking about the venue, he said: “It’s incredible to play here and bring tennis to new places and new people.”
