The image, taken by photographer Edgar Su, is the overall winner of the record-breaking 2026 competition. The shot was taken during Alcaraz's fourth-round tennis match against Britain's Jack Draper at the 2025 Australian Open hosted in Melbourne, Australia.

As the only global sports awards dedicated exclusively to sports imagery, the submissions represent work from the world’s best professional sport photographers. TwelfthMan, along with Exposure Communications, is a co-owner of the awards and has been co-running them since they began in 2020.

This year’s awards mark the most successful edition in the competition’s history. A record-breaking 23,130 images were submitted by 4,120 photographers representing 123 countries, reinforcing the Awards’ status as one of the most internationally diverse and widely recognised sports photography competitions in the world.

2026 was also the first year of Canon sponsoring the prestigious competition. Richard Shepherd, Product Marketing Senior Manager, Imaging at Canon Europe, said: “The images recognised this year showcase photographers at their creative best, pushing boundaries, seeing differently and capturing sport in ways we’ve not experienced before. Canon’s role is to support that creativity through equipment photographers can trust under pressure, enabling them to create different in the most demanding moments.”

See all the winning photographs here: https://worldsportsphotographyawards.com/winners-and-shortlists-per-year/winners