Associated Press Awards
Serena Williams Crowned AP "Female Athlete of the Year" for the Third Time
December 25, 2013 ITS Staff - World No.1 Serena Williams of the United States was voted as the “2013 Female Athlete of the Year” by the Associated Press (AP), a news organization, on Wednesday. It was the third AP award for 17-time Grand Slam champion winning it 2002 and again in 2009.
The 32-year old Serena beat out another American athlete Brittney Griner, a professional basketball player who currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury WNBA. According to the AP report, Williams received 55 of 96 votes in the AP while Griner, came in second 14 votes. Olympian Gold-Medalist American swimmer Missy Franklin came in third with 10 votes.
Williams, who was also awarded by the ITF as World Champion of 2013; by L’Equipe as Female Athlete of the Year; and by WTA as Player of the Year was honored for the 2013 season winning 11 WTA tournaments including the French Open and U.S. Open titles, then capping the year by clinching WTA Finals in Istanbul. She went 78-4 in singles matches including a dominating period which saw her streak to a 34 consecutive match wins.
Williams is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time holding the most major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined amongst active players, male or female. She is the only player to have achieved a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. Her record of 32 Grand Slam titles puts her seventh on the all-time list: 17 in singles, 13 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles.
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