Serena Named AIPS Best Female Athlete Of 2017

She only competed in two tournaments last year, but Serena Williams winning the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant was enough for the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS) to name her their Best Female Athlete of 2017.

With 13.99% of the votes, the 23-time Grand Slam champion just edged out Hungarian Olympic swimmer Katinka Hosszu (13.65%) and US track and field sprinter Felix Allyson (10.64%). This marks the fifth time that Williams has won this annual honor.

Williams returned to competition last week in an exhibition match against Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.

Despite losing in a super-tiebreak for the third set, Williams showed encouraging early signs for her first match in 11 months and appeared optimistic that her game will only continue to improve.

The World No. 22 in the WTA rankings is next slated to defend her Australian Open crown when the tournament starts on Jan. 15.

Her current ranking means a potentially treacherous road that could see her face top-ranked Simona Halep or World No. 2 Garbine Muguruza as early as the third round.