How to win the pain game - Laureus World Comeback of the Year Nominees
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FCategory%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
Whether they fought back from career-threatening injury, mental burnout or the pain of past defeat, our six Nominees for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award would not be denied in 2025.
Physical trauma, mental scars – adversity stalks professional athletes, but it also defines careers. It reveals character, builds reputations and burnishes greatness. When the hard times come, when the blows rain down, their ability to absorb punishment and rise again is what separates them from their rivals.
This year, our Nominees for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award include a footballer who defied the odds to overcome injury and return to the peak of the women’s game; a triple jumper who rose from the lowest moment of her career to reclaim her place on the podium; a cyclist who fought back from a life-threatening crash; and a tennis player, cyclist and golfer who overcame the mental wounds of past disappointments to once again touch greatness.
This year, our Nominees for the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award include a footballer who defied the odds to overcome injury and return to the peak of the women’s game; a triple jumper who rose from the lowest moment of her career to reclaim her place on the podium; a cyclist who fought back from a life-threatening crash; and a tennis player, cyclist and golfer who overcame the mental wounds of past disappointments to once again touch greatness.
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FAll%20Nominees%2FAll%20Nominees%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Sports%20Awards%202026%20-%2016x9.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FAmanda%20Anisimova%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FEgan%20Bernal%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FRory%20McIlroy%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FYulimar%20Rojas%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FLeah%20Williamson%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20-%20Nominees%20Announced%20News%2FComeback%2FSimon%20Yates%20-%20Nominee%20-%20Laureus%20World%20Comeback%20of%20the%20Year.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
ACL – the most dreaded acronym in world football. An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament heralds an extended absence on the sidelines – gruelling months of recovery, as well as physical and mental agony. When Arsenal’s Leah Williamson slipped on the wet surface against Manchester United in April 2023, that was the journey she was facing.
Nine months of surgery, recovery and physiotherapy followed, ruling the Lionesses captain out of a World Cup campaign that saw England reach the final. She made her comeback for Arsenal in January 2024 and, from there, re-established her place in the team that won the Women’s League Cup two months later. But it was season 2024-25 in which she returned to the pinnacle of her sport. Williamson made 13 Champions League appearances as Arsenal lifted their first European title since 2007 by beating FC Barcelona 1-0 in the 2025 final.
Two months later, in July, she cemented her status as an English football legend by captaining her country to the UEFA Women’s Euro trophy for the second time in a row after a penalty shootout victory against reigning world champions Spain.
Nine months of surgery, recovery and physiotherapy followed, ruling the Lionesses captain out of a World Cup campaign that saw England reach the final. She made her comeback for Arsenal in January 2024 and, from there, re-established her place in the team that won the Women’s League Cup two months later. But it was season 2024-25 in which she returned to the pinnacle of her sport. Williamson made 13 Champions League appearances as Arsenal lifted their first European title since 2007 by beating FC Barcelona 1-0 in the 2025 final.
Two months later, in July, she cemented her status as an English football legend by captaining her country to the UEFA Women’s Euro trophy for the second time in a row after a penalty shootout victory against reigning world champions Spain.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FLeah%20Williamson%20(1).png?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FLeah%20Williamson%20(2).png?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FGettyImages-2216873502.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FLeah%20Williamson%20(3).png?format=auto&width=320)
“With great pain and sadness, I want to tell you that while I was training, when I fell on the descent from a jump, I had intense pain that was diagnosed as an injury to the left Achilles tendon. My heart is broken.”
In April 2024, Yulimar Rojas took to Instagram to share her devastating news – and announce that she would be unable to defend her triple jump Olympic title at the Paris Games. ‘La reina del triple salto’ (Queen of the triple jump) made her competitive return in March 2025, in the long jump at the 2025 Trofeo Ciudad de Salamanca – electing to compete in her former event to protect a still-fragile tendon from the demands of the triple jump.
Six months later, Rojas travelled to Tokyo for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in search of a fifth title. After qualifying for the triple jump final with her first competitive jump in two years, she lost out on a silver medal to defending Olympic champion Thea LaFond. The colour of the medal may have been different, but bronze – and a place on the podium – spoke to her resilience, determination and spirit.
In April 2024, Yulimar Rojas took to Instagram to share her devastating news – and announce that she would be unable to defend her triple jump Olympic title at the Paris Games. ‘La reina del triple salto’ (Queen of the triple jump) made her competitive return in March 2025, in the long jump at the 2025 Trofeo Ciudad de Salamanca – electing to compete in her former event to protect a still-fragile tendon from the demands of the triple jump.
Six months later, Rojas travelled to Tokyo for the 2025 World Athletics Championships in search of a fifth title. After qualifying for the triple jump final with her first competitive jump in two years, she lost out on a silver medal to defending Olympic champion Thea LaFond. The colour of the medal may have been different, but bronze – and a place on the podium – spoke to her resilience, determination and spirit.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FYulimar%20Rojas%20(1).jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FYulimar%20Rojas%20(3).jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FYulimar%20Rojas%20(2).jpg?format=auto&width=320)
Williamson and Rojas were ruled out for extended periods of time: Egan Bernal was nearly ruled out entirely. Three years after winning the Tour de France in 2019, Bernal was completing a training ride in his native Colombia. The 29-year-old collided with a stationary bus in the middle of a time trial run. The crash nearly claimed his life. He suffered injuries to his spine, femur and ribs, and later stated that he had a “95% chance of becoming paraplegic”. Despite all the odds, Bernal returned to competitive cycling in 2023, with an eighth-place finish at the Tour de Romandie.
Two years later, at the 2025 Vuelta a España, Bernal joined a breakaway during Stage 16, alongside Spaniard Mikel Landa. The two engaged in a fierce battle and Landa trailed Bernal when an announcement was made that the stage would be shortened due to a protest. Despite being caught by a late Landa charge, Bernal surged ahead with the makeshift finishing line in sight, pipping his rival to claim a first Stage win in four years.
Two years later, at the 2025 Vuelta a España, Bernal joined a breakaway during Stage 16, alongside Spaniard Mikel Landa. The two engaged in a fierce battle and Landa trailed Bernal when an announcement was made that the stage would be shortened due to a protest. Despite being caught by a late Landa charge, Bernal surged ahead with the makeshift finishing line in sight, pipping his rival to claim a first Stage win in four years.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FEgan%20Bernal.png?format=auto&width=320)
Not all wounds are visible. For Amanda Anisimova, 2025 marked a triumphant return to tennis, the sport she had fallen out of love with. Two years prior, Anisimova announced that she had been struggling with the demands of an 11-month season and the constant negativity of social media. It had left her resenting the sport and struggling to compete at her best. The then-21-year-old laid down her racquet for eight months and focused on friends, family and her studies.
The mental reset worked and 2024 saw a refreshed Anisimova return to the tour. 2025 was the year that her period of renewal manifested in results. Wins at the Qatar Open and the China Open – as well as a WTA Finals semi-final appearance – showcased to the world that Anisimova was back. At Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam final after defeating World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set semi-final, but was swept aside by Iga Świątek in the final without registering a single game. She admitted afterwards to being “frozen with nerves” but bounced back strongly from that setback to reach the US Open final just two months later, where this time she lost to Sabalenka in a much tighter two-set contest.
The mental reset worked and 2024 saw a refreshed Anisimova return to the tour. 2025 was the year that her period of renewal manifested in results. Wins at the Qatar Open and the China Open – as well as a WTA Finals semi-final appearance – showcased to the world that Anisimova was back. At Wimbledon, she reached her first Grand Slam final after defeating World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set semi-final, but was swept aside by Iga Świątek in the final without registering a single game. She admitted afterwards to being “frozen with nerves” but bounced back strongly from that setback to reach the US Open final just two months later, where this time she lost to Sabalenka in a much tighter two-set contest.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FGettyImages-2224499314.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FGettyImages-2239354899.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FGettyImages-2234046828.jpg?format=auto&width=320)
Simon Yates had some demons of his own to dispel at the 2025 Giro d’Italia. In 2018, Yates held a commanding lead in the race for the title. After first taking the Maglia Rosa on Stage 6, Yates registered two further Stage wins and wore the jersey for 13 days. By Stage 19 – the infamous Colle delle Finestre climb – he still held a lead in the overall classification, but his composure cracked and, losing 38 minutes to the leaders, he virtually handed Chris Froome the title. Seven years on, Yates was chasing redemption. Lying one minute and 21 seconds off the general classification lead after Stage 19, Yates returned to the Colle delle Finestre. This time, though, he went on the attack in the Alps, catching classification leader Isaac del Toro to reclaim the Maglia Rosa and the overall lead. The final stage was a formality, as Yates rode into Rome to win the title by nearly four minutes.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FSimon%20Yates.png?format=auto&width=320)
While Yates’ redemption arc took seven years, Rory McIlroy’s Major drought lasted more than a decade. When the Northern Irishman claimed the 2025 Masters, it ended a period of almost 4000 days without a major title – and completed a career grand slam. The barren years would have been unimaginable when the then-25-year-old McIlroy won at the Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky in 2014. That year’s PGA Championship was the fourth major of his career and was expected to herald an era of dominance for McIlroy. It failed to materialise and The Masters, in particular, proved his nemesis: a heart-breaking collapse in the final round in 2011; five consecutive top-10 finishes between 2014 and 2018; and an astonishing final round comeback that fell just short in 2022.
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FRory%20McIlroy%20(4).png?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FRory%20McIlroy%20(1).png?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FRory%20McIlroy%20(2).png?format=auto&width=320)
%20Comeback%20Editorial%2FRory%20McIlroy%20(3).png?format=auto&width=320)
2025 was to be his year, but the drama of his fifth major title proved unrelenting. On the 13th hole, he found the water – and a three-stroke lead over Justin Rose was reduced to one. On the 18th, a missed par putt from McIlroy took him into a playoff with Rose. But just when history looked to be repeating itself for the 35-year-old, Rose misjudged his birdie putt on the first hole of the playoff to place McIlroy four short feet from history. He made no mistake, holing the putt to claim the green jacket and become one of only six golfers to have completed the career grand slam.
