Tyson Fury, Lewis Hamilton, Naomi Osaka: 10 'most loved' sports stars revealed

The world of sport can produce the most wonderful rollercoaster journey of emotions.

Supporters build core memories from watching their team hoist trophies high above their heads, kiss medals, and get showered in champagne.

But what really fuels the passion is the athletes themselves. Their engagement with supporters and love for their sport is just as important as their performances on the field.

Sports Direct, the UK’s number one sportswear retailer, conducted a study to reveal the world’s most loved sportspeople.

Taking into account online search volumes and ‘love’ reactions online, the top 10 most loved athletes have been determined.

In at number 10 is tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a combined 382,068 searches and ‘love’ reactions. The 21-time Grand Slam champion continues to be one of the sport’s leading names, even with the impressive new crop of talent pushing through.

Following Nadal is football star Alex Morgan, who has been heavily searched for online.

The US international has been a popular figure for many years now and her ranking of ninth in this list shows she is still going strong in the search engines with a total of 533,000 worldwide hits.

But despite her high search volume, she received the lowest amount of ‘love’ reactions on this list with 528.

Another heavily Googled athlete is Raheem Sterling, who takes the eighth spot.

The Manchester City and England forward is not just a trailblazer on the pitch but a prominent figure in tackling racial abuse in football. He also runs his own charity that aims to educate and inspire young people to become better prepared for the future.

Sterling received 591,000 search hits and 96,492 ‘love’ responses.

Naomi Osaka is another athlete who is influential both on