World number one golfer Tiger Woods, two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho, Russian pole vaulting legend Yelena Isinbayeva and Chinese badminton great Lin Dan are also among the names in contention to pick up the prize at the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards.

Team Oracle skipper Jimmy Spithill became the youngest man to lead his team to victory in the America's Cup as the 30-year-old guided his boat home ahead of Emirates Team New Zealand in San Francisco Bay last September.

The victory came after a remarkable turnaround in the 19-race series which saw Oracle, who were inspired by Britain's four-time Olympic sailing champion Sir Ben Ainslie, recover from being 8-1 down to clinch the title 9-8 in dramatic fashion on the final day of racing under the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Nadal returned to action in 2013 after a seven-month lay-off with a serious knee injury to reclaim his spot at the top of the world rankings with five ATP Masters 1000 tournament wins.

But it was the 27-year-old's performance in the Grand Slams that cemented his place among the greats of the game as he returned to Roland Garros to secure his eighth French Open title before going on to claim a second US Open win in New York to leave him sitting on 13 career Grand Slams.

Rafael Nadal returned from injury in 2013 to reclaim the world number one spot and bag two more Grand Slam titles ©AFP/Getty Images



Woods made a similar impact in 2013 as he returned to form after a number of years of indifferent play on the golf course due to personal issues and injury.

While the 38-year-old failed to add to his 14 Major Championship wins, he registered five wins on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour in 2013, including wins at the Farmers Insurance Open, World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational and the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

That run of victories seen Woods race back to the top of the world rankings and sent out an ominous message to his rivals that 2014 may be the year that he adds to his Majors haul.

Another man who signalled a return to form was Ronaldinho, whose performances for club side Atlético Mineiro will have boosted his chances of making the Brazilian squad for this year's FIFA World Cup.

The 33-year-old, who was a key member of Brazil's World Cup winning squad at Japan and South Korea 2002, picked up the 2013 South American Footballer of the Year award after leading Atlético Mineiro to their first ever Copa Libertadores title in July.

Pole-vaulting world record holder Isinbayeva shook off the disappointment of missing out on a hat-trick of Olympic titles at London 2012 to delight home fans inside Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium by claiming a third world title at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships.

A refocussed Tiger Woods claimed five PGA Tour titles in 2013 to reclaim his world number one spot ©Getty Images



Despite taking time off following his second successive Olympic title at London 2012, Lin returned to action at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships on home soil in Guangzhou to claim his fifth world title in-a-row after being granted a wildcard entry.

The 30-year-old followed this up with a third consecutive singles title at the Chinese National Games in Liaoning in September.

Other names in contention for the award include French basketball player Tony Parker, who returned from injury to help France take the European crown and lead the San Antonio Spurs to the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals.

LaShawn Merritt put his disappointing performance at London 2012 behind him to beat Olympic 400 metre champion Kirani James in Moscow while 40-year-old Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidt returned to form to take the 2013 Laser World Championship crown nine years after taking Olympic gold in Athens.

The Boston Red Sox are also in contention after they recovered from a miserable 2012 season which saw them finish last in the American League East losing 93 matches, to claim the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series following victory of the St Louis Cardinals.

The Boston Red Sox put a 93 game losing record behind them to win the World Series in 2013 ©Getty Images



The Laureus Media Selection Panel, comprising leading sports editors, sports writers, broadcasters and online journalists from around the world, will select the six nominees for the Comeback of the Year Award.

The panel will also select the six-strong shortlists for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, World Sportswoman of the Year, World Team of the Year, World Breakthrough of the Year, World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability and World Action Sportsperson of the Year.

The winner in each category will then be chosen by members of the Laureus World Sports Academy in a secret ballot.

The complete list of nominees for each category will be announced on February 26, exactly a month before the 15th Laureus World Sports Awards take place in the Malaysian capital on March 26.

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