Serena Williams voted Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
The Associated Press Athlete of the Year has been established way back in 1931 and it was the first Athlete of the Year award in the USA. AP sports editors from across the United States are choosing the winners from a wide range of sports and the honor usually goes to the Americans, even though there were some exceptions, mainly in tennis and golf. Don Budge and John McEnroe are the only tennis players who had managed to win the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year while Helen Jacobs, Helen Wills Moody, Alice Marble, Maureen Connolly, Althea Gibson, Maria Bueno, Billie Jean King, Evonne Goolagong, Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams.
Serena claimed the award in 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2015 and she has found her name on the list again this year, securing the fifth Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year honor in her illustrious career. U.S. editors and news directors gave Serena 93 points, leaving gymnast Simone Biles on 68 in second while the last year's winner Katie Ledecky finished fifth. Playing only 24 matches on the Tour in 2018, Serena stayed empty-handed for the first time since 2006, making a return in March after giving birth to daughter Olympia in September 2017. Sidelined since the Australian Open 2017 when she won her 23rd Grand Slam crown, Serena needed a few months to find the right form and she returned to her best at Wimbledon, reaching the final that she lost to Angelique Kerber.
After early exits in San Jose and Cincinnati, Serena was on a verge of winning another Grand Slam crown, advancing into the title match in New York but losing to Naomi Osaka in a controversial clash after the outburst caused by decisions the chair umpire Carlos Ramos made. That was the last match Serena played in 2018 and she is hoping for a more challenging schedule in the season in front of us, competing in Abu Dhabi and Hopman Cup before heading to Melbourne where she will chase the eighth title.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2EPZLo1
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