Instead of American Pharoah – who snapped a 37-year Thoroughbred Triple Crown drought – the Sports Illustrated award was given to professional female tennis player Serena Williams, who was an absolute force to be reckoned with on her respective tour in 2015.
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Williams expressed her gratitude for being titled the sportsperson of 2015 on Instagram by stating 2015 has been one of the best years for her and she couldn’t have done any of it without her team. She remained No. 1 all season, with absolutely no challengers within range to dethrone her.
“She was the most deserving person for the award”.
Serena Williams, Queen of tennis, has officially claimed her title as Sportsperson of the Year.
Serena Williams on the cover of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands on December 21.
The tennis superstar dominated the sport by winning three major titles and completing her second “Serena Slam” – she won four consecutive Grand Slam titles dating back to the 2014 U.S. Open. Garbine is already ranked at number three in the world and has shown she can be a force in the Grand Slam events, making it to the Wimbledon final in 2015, losing out to the great Serena Williams 4-6 4-6.
American Pharoah received 278,824 votes in the online poll, compared to just 5,520 for Williams, who got the second-lowest figure of 12 nominees.
“For Sports Illustrated to recognise my hard work, dedication and sheer determination with this award gives me hope to continue on and do better”.
“As I always say, it takes a village it’s not just one person“, she said. I am beyond honored. She later wrote that she heard some in the crowd yell racial slurs, something her father had alleged at the time. She had an fantastic year. “And he won the magazine’s readers poll for the award”, according to the publication.
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American Pharoah won horse racing’s triple crown, and that doesn’t happen often.
