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Serena Williams is 2009 AP Female Athlete of Year
(December 22, 2009) Serena Williams has been chosen as Female Athlete of the Year by members of The Associated Press.
Williams received 66 of 158 votes cast by editors at U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. No other candidate got more than 18 votes in the tally, which was announced Tuesday.
Clearly, Serena Williams’ most infamous on-court episode—a tirade directed at a line judge after a foot-fault call near the end of her U.S. Open semifinal loss in September—didn’t hurt her standing in the eyes of the voters.
She also noted that the outburst, which resulted in a record fine and two-year probationary period at Grand Slam tournaments, “got a lot more people excited about tennis.”
The 28-year-old American tends to do that, thanks to her powerful, athletic play and her outgoing personality.
“We can attribute the strength and the growth of women’s tennis a great deal to her,” WTA chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster said in a telephone interview. “She is a superstar.”
Do you think that Serena should have been selected for this AP award? If not, who else should have been considered the Female Athlete of the Year?
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