Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka battle for Sportswoman of the Year accolade as duo bags BET Awards 2024 nomination alongside Angel Reese, Simone Biles

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka have bagged Sportswoman of the Year nominations at the 2024 BET Awards. Besides the tennis players, the elite list also features the likes of WNBA star Angel Reese, who won the award in 2023, and celebrated gymnast and 2020 winner Simone Biles.

The awards show, established by the Black Entertainment Television network, is set to air live on June 30 and will celebrate the talent present in the Black community across various fields. Canadian rapper Drake leads the list with seven nominations, followed by Trinidadian-American rapper Nicki Minaj, who’s earned six.

In sports, five American basketball players - LeBron James, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving; two football players – Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes, and boxer Gervonta Davis, are in contention for the Sportsman of the Year award.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff represent tennis in a list dominated by four basketball players – A’ja Wilson, Angel Reese, Flau’jae Johnson, and JuJu Watkins. American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and gymnast Simone Biles are also nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year award.

This is Naomi Osaka’s sixth nomination, having made the list every year since 2019. The four-time Grand Slam champion was the winner on two occasions (2021 and 2022).

Meanwhile, this is Coco Gauff’s second nomination -- she previously got the nod in 2020, a year after she announced herself on the tour by beating idol Venus Williams at the Wimbledon Championships. The reigning US Open champion’s yet to win the trophy, though.

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Apart from Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, Venus and Serena Williams' success was recognized at BET Awards

Serena Williams pictured at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka aren’t the only tennis players to be recognized at the BET Awards. Over the years, Serena Williams and her sister Venus have also earned numerous accolades at the event.

Serena Williams has dominated the category, bagging the most nominations (23). 2024 marks the first year since the inauguration of the awards show (2001) that the 23-time Grand Slam champion has missed out on a nomination. Williams also holds the record for the most awards -- she was the winner in 16 editions.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams was nominated a staggering 17 times and won the award once – in 2006.

Apart from Gauff, Osaka, and the Williams sisters, no other tennis player has been recognized at the BET Awards in the men’s and the women’s categories.