In 2009, Serena Williams has re-established herself as the top player in women’s tennis and was landslide choice as Female Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
At US newspapers, Williams has received 66 of 158 votes cast by editors. And not another candidate has got more than 18 votes in the tally, which was announced Tuesday.
Williams’ most infamous on-court episode — a tirade directed at a line judge after a foot-fault call near the end of her U.S. Open semifinal loss in September — didn’t hurt her standing in the eyes of the voters.
She also noted that the outburst, which resulted in a record fine and two-year probationary period at Grand Slam tournaments, “got a lot more people excited about tennis.”
The 28-year-old American tends to do that, thanks to her powerful, athletic play and her outgoing personality.
Williams, who is based in Florida, also won the AP award in 2002, a seven-year gap that is the longest between AP Female Athlete of the Year honors since golf’s Patty Berg won in 1943 and 1955.
Williams finished the year at No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She topped $6.5 million in prize money, breaking the single-season tour record by more than $1 million.
She won three significant singles titles — Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the season-ending tour championships — and paired with Sister Venus to win three Grand Slam doubles championships.
Williams went 50-12 in singles, and .806 winning percentage that was the highest for any woman who played at least 20 matches in 2009. She tied for the tour lead in singles titles. She led the tour with 381 aces, 75 more than anyone else and also led in percentages of first-service points won and service games won.
Williams’s career totaled to 11 due to her two Grand Slam singles title, the most among the active women. At the other point, she lost the eventual champion: Svetlana Kuznetsova at the French Open, Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open.
Zenyatta, the 5-year-old mare who capped her 14-0 career by becoming the first female horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic, finished second for the AP honor — with 48 fewer votes than Williams. For context: Last year’s AP honoree, WNBA star Candace Parker, edged runner-up Lorena Ochoa by a single vote, while two other athletes finished within seven votes of Parker.
Clijsters, who came out of retirement only weeks before winning the U.S. Open, was third in 2009 with 16 votes. Lindsey Vonn, who won her second consecutive overall title in Alpine skiing’s World Cup, finished third with 15 votes, followed by Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s MVP, who received 14.
In what was widely considered the best women’s tennis match of 2009, Williams was one point from defeat before coming back to beat Beijing Olympics gold medalist Elena Dementieva 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 in the Wimbledon semifinals. The affair lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes — longer than any All England Club women’s semifinal or final on record.
Williams hit 20 aces in that victory then beat her older sister in the final two days later.
The younger Williams also beat her sibling in the season-ending tour championships title match on Nov. 1.
William’s plans for 2010- she said her goal is to have a better year than 2009, and to stay healthy.
(Source: http://news.yahoo.com)
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