Following his victorious match against Yoshihito Nishioka in the inaugural ATP Cup Of 2020, Rafael Nadal received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the third time, repeating an ‘honor he had previously achieved in 2010 and 2018.
Established in 1977, the ATP Sportsmanship Award has had a regular owner between 1988-1995, with Stefan Edberg winning five honors during those years. Recognized as one of the coolest and friendliest players on the Tour, the ATP decided in 1996 that the award would henceforth be named Edberg, to become the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.
Rafael Nadal received the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award in January 2020
For the past 25 years, Alex Corretja, Patrick Rafter, Paradorn Srichaphan, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have been the only winners of the award voted on by the players themselves.
Federer and Nadal have been in the running for this trophy since 2004! Nadal earned it in 2010 and 2018, while Federer won all of the remaining years (although it’s not entirely clear what to do to get the award), while also receiving the honor for the 13th time in 2017.
After winning it in 2018, Nadal was nominated for the 2019 season along with Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman, but he beat all those rivals to become the third player since 1996 with three Stefan Edberg awards, behind Patrick. Rafter and Roger Federer.
“Receiving the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the third time means a lot to me. As I always say, winning titles and games is important, but it is even more important for the public and other players to remember you as of a nice person.
Throughout my career I have tried to control myself and bring the right attitude to every point, fighting to the end and respecting each opponent. I would like to thank my colleagues on the Tour for thinking that I am the right person to receive this great honor.
Maybe I can play until I’m 50 and catch Roger Federer, who has won the award 13 times, “Rafael Nadal joked.
–
