Williams wins: ‘Serena Superpowers’ see tennis star land decade award
By Chris Myson
The Associated Press named Serena Williams as the Female Athlete of the Decade, with LeBron James coming out on top in the Male category.
Serena Williams was praised for her “Superpowers” after being named the AP Female Athlete of the Decade at the weekend.
American Serena has been the dominant figure in women’s tennis over the past decade.
But her remarkable accomplishments during the last 10 years reached beyond tennis and quickly travelled much further than sports as her popularity soared and global recognition grew.
She won the most Grand Slam titles in the 2010s, just as she had done in the 2000s.
More than 20 years after winning her first major in 1999, Serena will be back in 2020 looking to make history by equalling and potentially beating the all-time Grand Slam record held by Margaret Court.
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Her accomplishments led to AP member sports editors and beat writers voting Serena as their female winner for the decade.
Serena posted her thanks for the award on Instagram, adding the hashtag #IFeelSpecial.
She got the better of gymnastics star Simone Biles, with the final positions of three to five filled by swimmer Katie Ledecky along with skiing duo Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.
Biles called Serena her “idol” and hailed her for staying “humble and true to herself” despite all of her extraordinary success.
There was a further tribute from Stacey Allaster, who spent six years as CEO of the WTA and now serves in the same role for the USTA, who organise the US Open.
Per ESPN, she pointed to how Serena Williams had responded to extreme pressure both on and off the court to cement her legacy.
"“When the history books are written, it could be that the great Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time,” said Allaster.“I like to call it the ‘Serena Superpowers’, that champion’s mindset. Irrespective of the adversity and the odds that are facing her, she always believes in herself.“Whether it was health issues; coming back; having a child; almost dying from that, she has endured it all and she is still in championship form. Her records speak for themselves.”"
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James won the Male Athlete of the Decade award.
There were no tennis players in the male top five, with LeBron beating NFL icon Tom Brady, supreme sprinter Usain Bolt, soccer sensation Lionel Messi and swimmer Michael Phelps to the honour.
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As for Serena, her pursuit of history is about to get going in 2020 after an epic ‘Mouratoglou preseason’ that saw her, Coco Gauff and other players put through drills by the likes of boxing legend Mike Tyson.
She is now top seed for the ASB Classic in Auckland after the withdrawal of the woman who beat her in the US Open final, Bianca Andreescu.
Serena will also play doubles with close friend Caroline Wozniacki for the first time at the WTA Tour event, something both players have discussed their excitement about with the Dane now on the brink of retirement.
Then will come the Australian Open, an event for which Serena, a seven-time champion, is currently rated as the favorite for.
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The unbelievable prospect of matching Court’s record 24 Slams is still sitting within the 38-year-old’s grasp and it would take a brave tennis fan to bet against her.