Even though her season might have been mired by the unfortunate on-court incident with a line judge at the 2009 US Open, American tennis star and Women’s Tennis number one ranked players Serena Williams was named AP Female Athlete of the Year and no one deserves it better.

For a player who has played her best tennis when it mattered the most, Serena, the younger of the Williams sisters made it known to the tennis world she is the top player in 2009.

The AP award was also a landslide as Williams received 66 of the 158 votes by members of the Associated Press. No other candidate received more than 18 total votes.

Does Serena deserve the award? Yes without a doubt, she finished the season strong and is also the number one female tennis player in the rankings. Should we judge Serena because of her outburst at a line judge? The award does not look at that one incident, but rather her body of work throughout the entire season.

If voters had considered her infamous moment with the line judge while playing Kim Clijsters in the Semifinal of the US Open, then the award would have gone somewhere else. Even Serena acknowledges that as well.

“People realize that I’m a great player, and one moment doesn’t define a person’s career,” Williams said to the Associated Press. “And I was right, for the most part: It wasn’t right the way I reacted—I never said it was—but I was right about the call.”

There is no denying that Serena is a great tennis player; analysts, critics and fans can all agree she dominates her opponent physically and also with her athletic prowess. Both Williams’ sisters are not your typical tennis players and Serena with her power and consistency on the court has made her a dominant player in the sport. Regardless of what you might think of both ladies, they have exhibited class in a sport that thrives on it, either at the French Open or the Wimbledon Open.

Serena’s strength has always scared her opponent and why not. She looks fierce every time she is about to hit a ball, her speed is shocking considered that she is always the bigger players with a physical built compared to her opponents.

“We can attribute the strength and the growth of women’s tennis a great deal to her [Serena],” said Stacey Allaster, the WTA Tour chairman and CEO. “She is a superstar.”

Superstar is a mild word to describe one of only two Americans ranked in the top 10 in Women’s tennis. Both sisters have given tennis a life line in America and no one else is even close to Serena or big sister Venus.

“I’m just happy and blessed to even be playing seven years later. All this is a bonus, really,” Serena said. “In 2002, I just was really dominant, and I think in 2009, I just brought that back. I kind of became that player again.”

Serena was dominant in 2009 as she was in 2002 when she also won the AP award. This year alone, just take a look at her titles in tennis; three singles titles which included the Australian Open and Wimbledon, along with the season-ending tour championships. Along with her sister Venus, the Williams won doubles in three Grand Slam Championships.

An incredible performance if you consider that Serena won two of four grand slam singles titles and three of four doubles as well with a 50-12 record.

Take a bow Miss. Williams you deserve it for a great 2009.

“My goal is to have a better year than ’09—and to stay healthy,” Williams said, “and I think if I can do that, I’ll be fine.”