2022 Sportswoman of the Year Odds - Laureus World Sport Awards

Ashleigh Barty secured her third Grand Slam with her win in the 2022 Australian Open. After her imposing win on home soil, Barty revealed that she would be retiring from professional tennis at only 25-years-old.

Barty also had a massively impressive 2021. Her victory at Wimbledon gave the Aussie her second-ever Grand Slam and made her the first Indigenous Australian woman to win Wimbledon in 50 years. This honour joined Barty’s 2019 French Open win and a Doubles title at the 2018 US Open with partner CoCo Vandeweghe.

The 2022 Australian Open closed her career in spectacular fashion, retaining her world No. 1 singles ranking after Aryna Sabalenka and Barbora Krejčikova crashed out in the fourth round and Quarterfinals.

Barty somewhat breezed through the first four rounds, Lesia Tsurenko, Lucia Bronzetti, Camila Giorgi and Amanda Anisimova were unable to trouble the Aussie.

Barty’s Quarter-final and Semi-final opponents, Americans Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, failed to topple her, losing 6 - 2, 6 - 0 and 6 -1, 6 - 3 respectively. The Aussie met yet another American in the final, but Barty overcame Danielle Collins 6 - 3, 7 - 6 to win in front of the home crowd.

After a strong showing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Thompson earned her second-ever Sportswoman of the Year nomination.

The Jamaican’s dominance over the track and field last summer established her as one of the fastest women in the world. This was especially true after she pipped sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to the 100m win.

Thompson won golds in the 100m, 200m and the 4x100m relay. Her victories in the 100m and the 200m made her back-to-back Olympic Champion in the two events after her wins in Rio in 2016.

In August of 2021, Thompson competed at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon where she set an event record in the 100m. The Jamaican’s time of 10.54 made her the second-fastest woman of all time over 100 metres.

Australian Emma McKeon received her first-ever Sportswoman of the Year nomination after the swimmer’s incredibly dominant display at Tokyo 2021.

McKeon won four golds and three bronzes, the most medals by an individual athlete at the 2021 Tokyo Games. Her medal haul also took her tied with legendary gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya for most medals for a female athlete at an Olympic Games.

The Aussie’s golds were won in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle relay and the 4x100m medley relay.

McKeon’s Olympic story is inspiring after her failure to make the Australian Olympic team in 2012 caused her to take a long break from the sport. However, she returned to the sport for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Allyson Felix received her fourth Laureus Sportswoman of the Year nomination after a stunning display in Tokyo this summer. The American passed Carl Lewis as the most decorated track and field Olympian after her triumphs in the summer, Felix won gold in the 4x400m relay and bronze in the individual 400m.

Her performances in Tokyo took her all-time Olympic medal tally up to 11 - seven golds, three silvers and a bronze. Felix was a key figure in the highly successful US women's relay team, in fact, the relay wins account for six of her seven golds.

Felix also has a very impressive World Championship medal haul - 18 medals in total. Those 18 are made up of 13 golds, three silver and two bronzes.

Outside of her racing, Felix has also done a lot for the protection of her fellow athletes. She took a brief break from athletics in 2018 after the birth of her daughter Camryn. The birth was a difficult one and led to Felix campaigning for the protection of pregnant athletes’ salaries.

Katie Ledecky’s Tokyo 2021 performance saw her be the most decorated US female athlete at the Summer Olympics for the second games in a row.

This time round in Tokyo Ledecky claimed gold in the 800m and 1500m freestyle further cementing her title as one of - if not the - greatest distance swimmers of all time. The American also won silvers in the 400m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Her total Olympic medal collection is now ten across the three games she’s competed at - this including seven golds. Her victory in the 800m freestyle this summer meant that Ledecky is the back-to-back-to-back champion in the event that she is also the world record holder for.

The Tokyo Games mean that in total Ledecky has 30 golds, seven silvers and one bronze medal across the Olympics, World Championships and Pan Pacific Games. The American has also broken 14 world records.

FC Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas had more than a dream 2021 season. Barcelona won both the Primera Division by 22 points, the UEFA women's Champions League, the Copa de la Reina and the Supercopa de Espana.

Putellas and her team beat Chelsea in the Champions League final 4 - 0 for the club's first-ever title, the biggest win margin of any Champions League final win. The Spaniard was also the third top scorer in the Primera Division with 17 goals.

After such an impressive season, Putellas found herself a very popular figure in the award season. She won the highest honour in football in the Ballon d’Or Feminin over fellow Barcelona player and international teammate Jennifer Hermoso.

Along with the Ballon d’Or, Putellas also won The Best FIFA Women's Player, UEFA Women's Player of the Year, UEFA Women's Champions League Midfielder of the Season, UEFA Women's Champions League team of the Season and Globe Soccer Women's player of the Year.