Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel gets emotional celebrating Spaniard's rare Laureus 2025 honor

Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel got emotional, celebrating the Spaniard receiving a rare honor at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards. The 38-year-old hung up the racket on his illustrious career at the Davis Cup Final last year

Nadal was bestowed with the rare honor of the Laureus Sporting Icon at the ceremony, which was held in Madrid this year. This made him only the second athlete ever, following Motorsports legend Valentino Rossi, to receive this honor. The room burst into a cacophony of joy as they rose to deliver a standing ovation to one of the all-time greats in sporting history.

Maribel, who has been one of his biggest pillars of support, was also present at the event and shared some highlights from her time at the coveted event, including some pictures of her brother with the prestigious award, a picture with Simone Biles, the athlete who presented the award to her brother, and so much more. She also admitted that she got emotional when her brother was celebrated.

"Very emotional night at the 25th anniversary gala of the @laureussport Awards 🖤Congratulations @rafaelnadal 😊 and to all the athletes awarded for this special recognition ✨," a translated message of Maribel's caption.

Interestingly, the honor not only made the 22-time Grand Slam champion's sister emotional, but it also sparked a heartfelt message from his former arch-rival, Novak Djokovic.

"Rafael Nadal's influence extends and expands on so many areas in life, not just tennis and not just sports in general" - Novak Djokovic

The two former arch-rivals at the Six Kings Slam - Source: Getty

Speaking on his former arch-rival Rafael Nadal's honor, Novak Djokovic was of the opinion that the Spaniard was worthy of the accolade due to his great influence on and off the tennis court. He also shared the message on his Instagram story and congratulated the 38-year-old.

"Everyone knows of his greatness on a tennis court and what he has achieved with his great fighting spirit, tenacity. But I think as the time went on, and the injuries that he was fighting with, the never-dying spirit that he showed and the good respecting values. So I think he is definitely the right person to receive this award no doubt because of his success but also his influence extends and expands on so many areas in life, not just tennis and not just sports in general."

Nadal and Djokovic also got a chance to catch up with each other at the event and were joined by American ski legend Lindsey Vonn. The Spaniard shared some highlights from their meeting on his TikTok.