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(December 22, 2009) Roger Federer and Serena Williams were selected Tuesday as the International Tennis Federation's world champions of 2009.
Federer, who receives the ITF award for a fifth time, completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open and captured a record 15th major title by winning Wimbledon. He also regained the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.
"It was an incredible year for me both on and off the court," Federer said. "To win my first Roland Garros title, break the all-time Grand Slam record and regain the No. 1 ranking is amazing. It means a lot to me to finish the year again at the top."
Serena Williams, who receives the ITF honor for a second time, won the Australian Open and Wimbledon to bring her career total of Grand Slam titles to 11.
Serena and Venus Williams were selected as women's doubles world champions for the first time, making Serena the first player since Martina Hingis in 1999 to receive both singles and doubles honors.
Despite not being awarded the Athlete of the Decade from the AP, do you think this is a more relevant award for Federer? Federer has had a great year and he has ended the year as No 1 but are there any other players that stood out this year? Let us know in the comments.