By Nick Georgandis
©Mark Peterson/Corleve
Even though 2010 has been over for more than a month, Rafael Nadal continues to rack up honors from his greatest season (yet).
On Monday, Nadal was named the year's individual Laureus Sports Award for the top male athlete of the year, beating out NBA star Kobe Bryant, boxer Manny Pacquiao, and fellow Spaniards Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, both soccer players.
The Spanish soccer team, which won the World Cup with Nadal in attendance just days after his triumph at Wimbledon last July, was named the top team in the world.
Tennis players Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki were all nominated for Female Athlete of the Year, but all were defeated by US skiier Lindsey Vonn, who won her third straight World Cup title, and took the gold medal in the women's downhill at the Winter Olympics held in Vancouver.
Clijsters won her second straight US Open, Williams won the Australian Open and Wimbledon and Wozniacki finished the year No. 1.
The massive award ceremony, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, benefits the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which supports 83 community sports projects around the world.
The winners of the awards are chosen by the 46 sports stars who make up the Laureus sports academy. Active on the committe are former tennis standouts Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Ilie Nastase and Monica Seles.