In Pictures

Gallery|Coronavirus pandemic

In Pictures: The world of sports in 2020

Sports went on in 2020, as COVID-19 ravaged and rearranged schedules, shortened seasons and cancelled tournaments. 

Athletic Club and Real Madrid play in an empty San Mames stadium during their Spanish La Liga football match in Bilbao, Spain, on July 5, 2020 [Alvaro Barrientos/AP Photo]
By AP
Published On 10 Dec 2020

Save

The faces of sport in 2020, new and old, were familiar.

But the images that most defined this year, on and off the fields, diamonds, courts and courses all over the world, were not.

COVID-19 ravaged and rearranged schedules, shortened seasons and cancelled tournaments.

But after a brief hiatus, sport managed to go on.

Switzerland's Roger Federer and Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the semi-final match at Rod Laver Arena as the sun sets at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia in January. [Andy Wong/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce (L) celebrates with head coach Andy Reid after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Super Bowl 54 football game in February 2020. [David J. Phillip/AP Photo]
IndyCar driver Tony Kanaan practises on his racing simulator at his home in Indianapolis in March. [Michael Conroy/AP Photo]
Leslie Amat, a Cuban triathlete, swims in a pool with straps that keep her from advancing, under the watch of her trainer Diosele Fernandez on the patio of her home in Havana, Cuba, in April 2020. [Ismael Francisco/AP Photo]
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby speaks on the scoreboard screen in an empty Sprint Center after cancelling the remaining NCAA college basketball games in the Big 12 Conference tournament due to the coronavirus. [Charlie Riedel/AP Photo]
Cheerleaders perform to empty stands before the start of a baseball game between the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers in Tokyo in June. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]
Advertisement
Naomi Osaka of Japan holds up the trophy after defeating Victoria Azarenka in the women's singles final of the US Open in September. [Seth Wenig/AP Photo]
LA Lakers players celebrate after they defeated Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals in October. [Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo]
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto prior to the start of the Emilia Romagna Formula One Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, on November 1. [Rudy Carezzevoli/Pool via AP]
Gaelle Hermet of France catches the ball during the Women's Autumn Nations Cup rugby union match between England and France at Twickenham stadium in London in November. [Ian Walton/AP Photo]
A man wearing a protective face mask walks past the Olympic rings on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, in Tokyo. The five Olympic rings are back in Tokyo Bay after they were removed for maintenance four months ago, shortly after the Tokyo Olympics were postponed until next year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo]