Until now, the Simone Biles vs. Rebeca Andrade rivalry was just about gymnastics. But now it’s all over social media, and the fans are fired up. And the reason for that might be the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards. Last year, Biles won the Laureus World Sports Awards for the Comeback of the Year award after her epic return to the sport following a two-year break for mental health. But despite being nominated in another category this year, the award ended up going to her biggest rival, Andrade. And yeah, Biles’ fans are not happy about it.

It’s fair, right? Not to her fans. After crushing it at the Paris Olympics with three gold medals, they wanted her to win this category award again. Instead, she got nominated in a different category, which ended up going to her biggest rival, Rebeca Andrade. The 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards just dropped their nominee list on March 3, and let’s just say—fans are spiraling.

The winners will be revealed in Madrid on April 21, but when the Comeback of the Year shortlist came out, one name was shockingly missing: Simone Biles. Instead, guess who made the cut? Rebeca Andrade. Also on the list? Caeleb Dressel (USA, swimming), Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland, Alpine skiing), Marc Marquez (Spain, motorcycling), Rishabh Pant (India, cricket), and Ariarne Titmus (Australia, swimming). But Biles? Nowhere in sight. And her fans? Not having it.

But before anyone screams “robbery,” Biles did score a nomination—just in a different (and arguably bigger) category: Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. And this one? Stacked. She’s up against Aitana Bonmati (football, Spain), Sifan Hassan (athletics, Netherlands), Faith Kipyegon (athletics, Kenya), Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (athletics, USA), and Aryna Sabalenka (tennis, Belarus). So yeah, the competition is no joke.

The fan base splits down the middle about who should have received this honor. Many fans believe Biles should have received another comeback award since her undefeated Paris Olympics performance. Multiple individuals argue that being named Sportswoman of the Year receives more recognition than Athlete of the Year. And over on Reddit? They gotta say something!!

Fans question why Simone Biles didn’t get nominated for both awards

One fan added, “It’s probably because she was already nominated for Sportswoman of the Year.” Another fan chimed in, saying, “Can you have people win both awards like Sportswoman and Comeback of the Year? I mean, Simone did both so why not?” The rules of the Laureus World Sporting Awards allow athletes to receive multiple nominations since Simone Biles missed the Comeback of the Year nomination this year. In fact, it’s happened before.

In 2018, tennis superstar Roger Federer received nominations for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year during the same year. The fans who argue Biles should receive nominations in multiple categories have some valid points because there is no specified restriction against such nominations.

One fan pointed out,

“I feel all of them deserved it, but Simone’s comeback was the biggest of them all.” And honestly, that’s a pretty solid take. Athletes who successfully overcome major challenges can win the prestigious Comeback of the Year recognition, which Simone received after dedicating time to her mental health.

The Tokyo 2020 tournament marked her decision to withdraw from various competitions because she deemed mental health preservation more important than contesting. During the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Simone Biles won gold while proving her resurgence through mental as well as physical recovery. The purpose of her comeback involved both the return to the gym and more than just a competition victory because she wanted to demonstrate mental health importance as well as physical health importance.

One fan is seriously heated, saying, “These awards are trash.” Another added, “How is Rebeca Andrade a ‘comeback’? She’s been crushing it in all four events at major comps for FOUR YEARS straight. Look at her medal haul from Tokyo to Paris. How is Paris a ‘comeback’ when she’s already been doing this for years?” And honestly, they kind of have a point but Rebecca deserves it!

Rebecca fought through tremendous obstacles to reach her highest achievements. Brazil was her home as a child, where she lived in a poor family and lacked good training facilities. No fancy equipment or high-end facilities—just hard work and determination. Using only the resources she had, Rebecca dedicated herself to daily training, which led her toward her ambition of being a leading gymnast.

She faced tough obstacles during her journey—the tough surroundings and the battle against injuries. The poor girl tore her ACL three times! She underwent the first ACL tear in 2015, followed by another injury in 2017, before experiencing her third tear in 2019 that necessitated surgical intervention. But did she let that stop her? Heck no! She came back stronger every time.

After each of her ACL tears, she kept getting better. And in this process, she became the first Brazilian woman to earn a gymnastics medal at the Olympics (silver in 2021) before winning the gold at the World Championships in 2022. At the Paris Olympics, she set multiple records by winning gold for floor exercise while also taking silver in vault competition and all-around categories, as well as bronze for the team event.

So, let’s see who snags the award in April, but Rebecca’s got a pretty solid case!