Serena Williams aces AP female athlete of the decade honor

Serena Williams had quite the decade, with her outstanding tennis skills only part of the reason she made headlines. The 38-year-old American continues to be a force on the court, though, routinely reaching the finals at Grand Slam tournaments at a time when her former contemporaries have retired. / AP photo by Charles Krupa Serena Williams had quite the decade, with her outstanding tennis skills only part of the reason she made headlines. The 38-year-old American continues to be a force on the court, though, routinely reaching the finals at Grand Slam tournaments at a time when her former contemporaries have retired. / AP photo by Charles Krupa

By Associated Press December 28, 2019 5 min read

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Serena Williams

File-This Oct. 22, 2013, file photo shows Serena Williams of the US keeping her eyes the ball as she serves to Angelique Kerber of Germany during their tennis match at the WTA Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.(AP Photo/File)

at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

File-This Oct. 28, 2012, file photo shows Serena Williams of the U.S. holding her trophy after her tennis victory against Maria Sharapova of Russia on the final of the WTA Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (AP Photo/File)

File-This Sept. 7. 2014, file photo shows Serena Williams, of the United States, hugging the championship trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, during the championship match of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, in New York. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

File-This Dec. 7, 2015, file photo shows USA's Serena Williams tripping as she returns a shot to Croatia's Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Japan Warriors in the women's singles match of the 2015 International Premier Tennis League at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

File-This Sept. 10, 2019, file photo shows Serena Williams holding her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. after showing her clothing line during New York's Fashion Week in New York. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

File-This Aug. 23, 2013, file photo shows Serena Williams, of the United States, looking up at the scoreboard during her match against Francesca Schiavone, of Italy, in the first round of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

File-This July 12, 2015, file photo shows Wimbledon Champions Novak Djokovic of Serbia, left, and Serena Williams of the US, dancing on stage at the Wimbledon Champion dinner, at the Guildhall, London. Williams has been voted the AP Female Athlete of the Decade for 2010 to 2019. Williams won 12 of her professional-era record 23 Grand Slam singles titles over the past 10 years. No other woman won more than three in that span. She also tied a record for most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 and collected a tour-leading 37 titles in all during the decade. Gymnast Simone Biles finished second in the vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers. Swimmer Katie Ledecky was third, followed by ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin. (Thomas Lovelock, Pool Photo via AP, File)

Serena Williams dominated the decade, both on the tennis court and in conversation.

There were, to begin with, the dozen Grand Slam singles titles – no other woman had more than three over the past 10 seasons – and the 3 1/2 years in a row at No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

Then there was the celebrity status that transcended her sport, making everything she did and said newsworthy, whether it was the triumphs, trophies and fashion statements or the disputes with tournament officials, the magazine covers or the Super Bowl ad with a message about women’s power, the birth of her daughter or the health scare that followed.

Still winning matches and reaching Grand Slam finals when so many of her former peers have retired, still mattering as much as ever, the 38-year-old American was selected by The Associated Press as its female athlete of the decade on Saturday after a vote by AP member sports editors and AP beat writers.

The AP male athlete of the decade will be announced Sunday.