Serena Williams

American tennis star Serena Williams won two Grand Slam tournaments in 2010 - the Australian Open and Wimbledon - to take her career record to 13 singles Grand Slam wins, sixth on the all time list.

However, towards the end of the year, she lost her world No 1 ranking to up-and-coming young Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.

At the Australian Open, Williams was the defending champion in both singles and doubles, with her sister Venus. She reached the singles quarter-finals without losing a service game or a set. In the semi-finals she beat Li Na to reach her fifth Australian Open final where she defeated 2004 champion Justine Henin 6–4, 3–6, 6–2. In doubles, the Williams sisters defeated Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-3 to defend their title.

At Wimbledon, she defeated Maria Sharapova in the fourth round, Li Na in the quarter-finals and Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals, all in straight sets. In the final, she beat Russia’s Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 without facing a break point. It was her 16th Grand Slam singles final appearance, her 13th Grand Slam singles victory and one of her easiest – she did not lose a set in the entire tournament.

At the 2010 Awards Ceremony in Abu Dhabi, she became the first woman in history to win three Laureus World Sports Awards after she was named 2010 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. She previously won the Sportswoman Award in 2003 and the Laureus Comeback Award in 2007. Only Roger Federer, with four, has won more Laureus Awards.