Roger Federer was lauded twice and American Sloane Stephens won during the ESPY Awards, ESPN’s annual celebration of sports on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Retired race car driver Danica Patrick hosted the 26th edition of the event to mixed reviews.
Federer won Best Record-Breaking Performance for capturing an eighth Wimbledon title in 2017 along with the 2018 Australian Open for his 20th Grand Slam title. The Swiss was also named Best Male Tennis Player.
Stephens was named Best Female Tennis Player. The current world No. 3 won the 2017 US Open, finished runner-up at this year’s French Open, and in March won the Miami Open title. Her US Open win occurred just two months after coming back from foot surgery.
Thank you @espn and #ESPYS for awarding me BEST FEMALE TENNIS PLAYER OF THE YEAR! 🎾 ♥️🎾 #butwaittheresmore pic.twitter.com/u5u4tdzzsy
— sloanestephens (@SloaneStephens) July 19, 2018
The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, named after the groundbreaking tennis star, went to the “sister survivors” who spoke out against the sexual abuses of former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor Larry Nassar. One hundred forty one of the hundreds of survivors of Nassar’s abuse were on hand in the emotional conclusion to the ceremony.
“To all the survivors out there, don’t let anyone rewrite your story,” said U.S. gymnast Aly Raisman. “Your truth does matter. You matter. And you are not alone.”
To view the full list of award winners with photos click here.
