Sports Illustrated names Serena Williams the 2015 Sportsperson of the Year. 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. 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 singles titles in the Open Era. The 34-year-old Williams accomplished all this while battling a string of injuries, producing one of the greatest late-career runs in the history of any sport. Williams was also a force off the court, making a powerful statement by returning to play a tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., for the first time since 2001, when she was greeted there with boos and, her family has charged, racist slurs. Williams used her return as an opportunity to speak out against injustice and called her decision to play at Indian Wells her “greatest moment in tennis.”

Williams’s status as a global icon was never more clear than it was in 2015. She appeared in movies and TV shows, guest-edited magazines and published essays and counts many of the world’s most influential people as her friends. She has utilized her broad platform to advocate for racial justice, gender equality and equal access to education around the world. As SI’s Sportsperson of the Year Williams joins an elite group that includes such icons as Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King, Joe Montana and Jack Nicklaus. In addition, this year’s announcement marks the official renaming of the honor as the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year award.

“This year was spectacular,” said Serena Williams. “For Sports Illustrated to recognize 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— not just one person. This is not just an accomplishment for me, but for my whole team and all my fans. I