Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Sports Illustrated named Serena Williams the 2015 Sportsperson of the Year.

The tennis superstar dominated the sport by winning three major titles she won four consecutive Grand Slam event titles dating back to the 2014 US Open. Williams won 53 of her 56 matches, was ranked No. 1 every week for the second consecutive year, and is now one short of Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Grand Slam event singles titles in the Open Era.

Since 1954, Sports Illustrated editors have annually presented the award to the athlete, team or coach who transcended the year in sports by achieving the highest level of athletic excellence, while demonstrating the ideals of sportsmanship. Williams is the first woman to be recognized with the honor as an individual since Mary Decker in 1983, and the first active tennis player since Chris Evert in 1976 (Arthur Ashe was Sportsman of the Year in 1992).

Williams will be honored on Tuesday in New York City during a celebration that will include tributes to Jack Nicklaus, the Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award recipient; Reece Whitley, the 2015 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKid of the Year; and Hunter Gandee, the 2015 SI High School Athlete of the Year.

Copyright © 2015. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.