After a blistering year where she came so close to the calendar Grand Slam, Serena Williams easily had one of the best seasons of her career.

And in recognition of that, Sports Illustrated Magazine has named the tennis player the sportsperson of the year.

The iconic magazine has been handing out the awards since 1954, and despite a storied career this is the first time Williams is winning it. The award is notoriously difficult to grab, with only Tiger Woods being able to win it on two different occasions.

Serena becomes the first woman since runner Mary Decker in 1983 to pick up the accolade.

Serena had a blockbuster year, remaining world number one throughout, and winning the first three grand slams. She came one game short of completing the calendar slam, losing the US Open semi final to Roberta Vinci in a very tense game.

Past winners of this prestigious award includes Lebron James, Wayne Gretzky, and the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali.