The Sports Illustrated cover, declaring Serena Williams as the ‘Sportsperson of the Year’, is telling. The tennis superstar, dressed in a sheer lace leotard, occupies a golden throne, showing off her beautiful, long legs. The image exudes power, poise and femininity. Feminists are divided though – some say that the image is not promoting the cause of women athletes who cope with body shaming while others defend her saying that this is an image of unbridled woman power, celebrating womanhood unabashedly.
But the fact is that, at 34, there’s no stopping Serena in the world of tennis. The reigning world number one tennis champion is far ahead of her current crop of competitors. According to a Forbes report, completing 20 years as a pro in 2015, Serena’s over $72 million in career prize money is apparently double that of her closest competitor, Maria Sharapova. Explaining why they chose Serena, the first sportswoman to win the coveted title in 30 years, as the ‘Sportsperson of the Year’, Sports Illustrated writes, “…she was a decisive choice. Sports Illustrated honors her dominance in 2015, when she won 53 of her 56 matches, three of the four Grand Slam events and built the most yawning ranking points gap between her and her closest competitor in tennis history. We honor her, too, for a career of excellence, her stranglehold on the game’s No. 1 ranking and her 21 Grand Slam titles, a total that has her on the brink of Steffi Graf’s Open Era Slam record, which Williams will likely eclipse by mid-summer.”
Serena was a picture of cool confidence and elegance when she accepted the prize. During her acceptance speech, she said, “I’ve had people look down on me, put me down because I didn’t look like them — I look stronger…I’ve had people look past me because the color of my skin, I’ve had people overlook me because I was a woman, I’ve had critics say I [would] never win another Grand Slam when I was only at number seven — and here I stand today with 21 Grand Slam titles, and I’m still going. I do want to be known as the greatest ever.”
Serena referred to her ups and downs in life – the body shaming in media critiquing her abundant biceps, match-fixing allegations at Indian Wells and her consequent reconciliation with the past. Clearly, Serena is born to be unstoppable!
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