Serena Williams is SI’s Sportsperson of the Year

And now, Sports Illustrated is honoring the tennis superstar with its “2015 Sportsperson of the Year” distinction.

The honour comes after Serena’s season for the ages that saw her come just two matches short of a Career Slam. Williams also went 53-3 during 2015 winning five titles, including the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

According to many readers who weighed in, she should not have won the title at all.

Though she did not win the Grand Slam, Serena’s been everywhere in 2015 and continues to thrive as one of the greatest athletes around.

She is still considered by many to be the best female tennis player of all time.

The 34-year-old accomplished her second “Serena Slam” while battling a string of injuries, producing one of the greatest late-career runs in the history of any sport, the magazine said, hailing her a “global icon”. Race was used as a cudgel against Williams at Indian Wells in 2001, and she returned the blow with a 14-year self-exile from the tournament.

Williams was the first woman to be recognised since Mary Decker in 1983, when the magazine took the opportunity to rename its award from Sportsman of the Year to Sportsperson of the Year. Three. That is so hard to do, and while in the past she has absolutely dominated people things came a little tougher for Serena this year.

“As I always say, it takes a village it’s not just one person“, she said.

Williams also has her own line of clothing and accessories, which she presented on the New York Fashion Week runway this past September. This is not just an accomplishment for me, but for my whole team.

“She was the most deserving person for the award”. I am beyond honored.

“This year was spectacular for me”, she wrote. Williams is the only tennis player to have six titles at three of the four Grand Slam events and the only player to win 10 Grand Slam titles in separate decades.