Serena Williams of Saginaw, MI was named the Associated Press female athlete of the decade on Saturday. According to Audrey McNamara of CBS News, Williams defeated American gymnast legend Simone Biles of Columbus, OH to receive the honor.
Williams, who was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2015 and 2018 over the last decade, has won 12 grand slam singles titles since 2010. She won Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2010, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2012, the French Open and the U.S. Open in 2013, the U.S. Open in 2014, the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2015, Wimbledon in 2016 and the Australian Open in 2017.
In addition to 12 Grand Slam singles titles, Serena Williams has won four grand slam doubles titles with her sister Venus Williams of Palm Beach Gardens, FL over the last decade. The Williams sister each won the 2010 Australian Open and French Open, and the Wimbledon women’s doubles titles in 2012 and 2016.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Williams also won the women’s singles and women’s doubles with Venus Williams. Serena Williams also won three consecutive WTA Tour Finals from 2012 to 2014.
In addition to Biles, there were three other American athletes considered for the award. They were swimmer Katie Ledecky of Washington, D.C. and skiers Lindsey Vonn of St. Paul, MN and Mikaela Shiffrin of Vail, CO.
Serena Williams is currently the 10th ranked tennis player in the world and top ranked American in the world. She is behind Ashleigh Barty of Australia, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, Naomi Osaka of Japan, Simona Halep of Romania, Bianca Andreescu of Canada, Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. In 2020, Williams will be looking to win her second career gold medal in women’s singles tennis at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
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