Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova were named Male Tennis Player and Female Tennis Player respectively at the ESPY (Excelllence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards 2014 on July 16. This ceremony is organized by sports channel ESPN. This is the 22nd edition of the event.
Sharapova has won this honor for the fifth time, having been bestowed the same honor in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012. Last year, the award went to Serena Williams.
Sharapova won her fifth Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros tournament nearly two months ago.
On the men’s side, Nadal won the honors and defeated Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who were fellow nominees. The nominees on the women’s side were Serena Williams, Li Na and Agnieszka Radwanska.
The ESPY awards were introduced in 1993 to recognize individual and team athletic achievements over the span of a year.
