When you read S.L. Price’s fine piece about Serena Williams, who today was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, it quickly becomes apparent that the recognition is for so much more than tennis. Williams’ 53-3 record is what put the (1) next to her name on draws this year; her life—a word used in the first and last sentences of the story—is what makes the person behind the name. They are equally compelling, and they make the magazine’s decision to give Williams the nod over fellow tennis titan Novak Djokovic seem like a no-brainer.
But Williams’ win is also a win for tennis. As a longtime SI reader, I’ve often wondered what kind of year it could possibly take for a tennis player to earn the honor. Roger Federer’s 2006 season, his zenith in which he went 92-5, wasn’t good enough; Rafael Nadal’s three-Slam 2010 failed to edge out Drew Brees; Djokovic’s breakthrough 2011 campaign was deemed inferior to the merits of college basketball coaches Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski. For much of the past decade, SI tennis maven Jon Wertheim wrote a letter in support of the tennis player d’année. But like a child’s letter to Santa Claus, it seemed like an annual exercise in fantasy.
Christmas came early for tennis this year. Williams was chosen over Usain Bolt, Stephen Curry, Jordan Spieth, Lionel Messi and American Pharoah—the consensus fan choice—among other accomplished nominees. She also, it appears, will represent tennis in this field during the sport’s current golden era. The last tennis player to be named SI Sportsperson of the Year was Arthur Ashe, in 1992.
Williams is a worthy ambassador, as many of her colleagues have attested. Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have all shared their admiration for Williams this year, but I found Andy Murray’s remarks about the concept of “sportsman,” spoken after a straight-sets loss to Federer at Wimbledon this summer, to be particularly compelling:
Q. How far is Roger from being considered one of the greatest sportsman, not just tennis player, but sportsman that's ever been?
ANDY MURRAY: I don't know. I mean, in my opinion, tennis is an extremely difficult sport. I think individual sports, you know, to be great for a long time, you have to have so many different ingredients to, I don't know, your abilities. You know, physical, mental. I mean, the way he plays the game is obviously nice to watch, as well.
I think, you know, when people can talk about someone like Messi, people love the way he plays the game. He makes it look easy. It stands out more, too.
But, yeah, he's a great sportsman, a great tennis player. I don't know, it's tough to say if he's the best of all time. Serena's got a fair shout at it, saying the same thing, as well, right now.
