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Clockwise from top left: Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles, Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Stokes, Megan Rapinoe and South Africa captain Siya Kolisi.

The Guardian picture essay

The best sports photography of 2019

This article is more than 4 years old

Clockwise from top left: Novak Djokovic, Simone Biles, Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Stokes, Megan Rapinoe and South Africa captain Siya Kolisi.

Tiger Woods’s comeback at the Masters, the brilliance of Simone Biles, Pep Guardiola berating Raheem Sterling, Ben Stokes’s World Cup heroics, Liverpool’s stunning Champions League defeat of Barcelona, Megan Rapinoe’s iconic celebration and South Africa’s Siya Kolisi lifting the Rugby World Cup trophy – here is our selection of the year’s best sports images.

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Tiger Woods celebrates after sinking his putt to win the Masters at Augusta on 14 April.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning a point against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain during their men’s singles semi-final at Wimbledon.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola berates Raheem Sterling despite him having scored twice during the 6-0 rout of Watford in the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain and Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou start in the women’s 100m final at the Khalifa Stadium during the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qata.

A dejected and bloodied Billy Vunipola of England walks off after defeat to South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final.

A bloodied Lee Selby in his fight with Omar Douglas at the O2 Arena in London on 23 February.

Simone Biles of the US performs on the uneven bars at the gymnastics world championships in Stuttgart.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal plays a shot against Switzerland’s Roger Federer during the semi-final of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros in Paris on 7 June.

Cori Gauff of the US celebrates her win against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in the women’s singles third-round match at Wimbledon

England’s Ben Stokes watches Nathan Lyon of Australia misfield as he attempts to run-out Jack Leach during day four of the third Ashes test match at Headingley.

Romania’s Simona Halep cries after her victory over Serena Williams in the women’s singles final at Wimbledon.

The ball deflects off Ben Stokes’ bat as he dives to make his ground during the Cricket World Cup final.

The pack rides between Saint Etienne and Brioude during the ninth stage of the Tour de France on 14 July.

Athletes compete on the way from Maloya to S-Chanf during the 51st annual Engadin skiing marathon in Sils, Switzerland on 10 March.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser rides Calisto Blue in the nations’ cup team jumping event in Aachen, Germany.

A rider attempts to compete in the Gotland grand national enduro race at Tofta airport near Visby in Sweden on 26 October.

Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton drives during the F1 Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit in the desert south of the capital Manama.

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Mike Minor throws during the seventh innings of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on 11 August.

A general view of The Macca’s Run, the fourth race of Melbourne Cup Day, at Flemington racecourse.

Flamengo fans cheer a goal scored by Gabriel Barbosa against Argentina’s River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final, broadcast on a giant screen at the Macarena stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates with Trent Alexander-Arnold after scoring Liverpool’s third goal against Barcelona during the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg at Anfield on 7 May.

Eliud Kipchoge runs behind his pacemaking team following the timing vehicle which is projecting a green laser to guide them on the Hauptallee in Vienna on 12 October during his attempt to run a sub two-hour marathon.

Guinea-Bissau’s Braima Suncar Dabo helps Aruba’s Jonathan Busby to the finish in the men’s 5000m heats during the World Athletics Championships at the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Great Britain’s Hayley Carruthers attempts to finish the women’s race at the 39th London Marathon.

Megan Rapinoe of the US celebrates with teammates Alex Morgan and Samantha Mewis after scoring the opening goal of the Women’s World Cup final match against a resilient Netherlands at Stade de Lyon.

Australia’s Ricky Betar competes in the heats of the men’s 200m freestyle S14 during the London 2019 World Para-Swimming championships at the Aquatics Centre in London.

France’s Elodie Clouvel competes in the women’s individual swimming final during the modern pentathlon world championships in Budapest.

South African captain Siya Kolisi lifts up the Webb Ellis Cup after his side defeated England in the final of the Rugby World Cup at Yokohama International Stadium.

Canada’s Francois Imbeau-Dulac performs a dive during the mens 5m synchro springboard final of the diving world series at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in London.

Great Britain’s Oliver Stanhope, James C Fox, Giedre Rakauskaite, Ellen Buttrick and coxswain Erin Wysocki-Jones train ahead of day three of the 2019 World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim, Austria, on 27 August.

These three photos show the trajectory of the ball and photographer Pavel Golovkin’s lens after it was hit by a ball from the serve of Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik during his second round French Open match against Austria’s Dominic Thiem on 30 May.

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