Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
The long anticipated wait is finally over! Sports Illustrated has finally announced who their choice for sportsperson of the year is and even though the online polls held American Pharaoh in its favor, the SI staff decided to go a different way thankfully. The 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year is none other than tennis legend and undeniable badass, Serena Williams.
To say that Williams deserves this award would be the understatement of the year. She worked her butt off and showed what a true sportswoman is. At age 34, Williams is not looking to be slowing down anytime soon and with the monster year she’s had, she has no reason to. Her 2015 record was 53-3, making her the #1 female tennis player this year in singles. However, she didn’t just excel in tennis, though.
2015 was full of opportunity that Williams grabbed ahold of. She would make a cameo in the Adam Sandler movie, “Pixels” as herself, became the first female African-American athlete to be featured alone on Vogue’s cover, and posed for the 2016 Pirelli calendar. She played at Indian Wells, where she was booed off the court by racist members of the audience back in 2001. Her reasoning for returning to Indian Wells was simple, “I needed to go back there and speak out against racism” which was shown by the response she got upon her return. Fourteen years later, Williams would receive a standing ovation.
Williams has also not been shy in sharing her support for the “Black Lives Matter” movement. Williams uses her platform to try to change the world and it shows not only with her return to Indian Wells, but with how she chooses to share her opinions. Her article on Wired speaks for itself and her unwavering opinions on equality, female athletes, and being an African-American woman is well worth the read.
Williams has aged with grace, becoming wiser and showing why she deserves this award more than anyone. Her hard work and determination to succeed make her one of a kind and give her the edge of anyone else. Serena Williams is the true picture of what a sportsperson should be.
[…] Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Williams’ career has been incredible to watch and at age 34 it does not appear she will be retiring anytime soon. Actually, it is quite the opposite; 2015 was a spectacular year for her. This is the year Williams won three major titles, appeared in a huge movie, and was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. […]