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Serena Williams was at the center of one of the most polarizing sports moments of 2018 when she criticized umpire Carlos Ramos as a “thief” during her US Open loss to Naomi Osaka.
She is also the 2018 Woman of the Year, according to GQ.
A 23-time Grand Slam champion who returned to the court this year following the birth of her daughter in September 2017, Williams appeared on the cover of the magazine this week. The 37-year-old tennis star was named alongside actors Henry Golding, Jonah Hill and Michael B. Jordan as part of GQ’s Men and Women of the Year honors.
Williams’ cover, in particular, sparked some controversy because it featured the Woman of the Year title with “Woman” in quotations — a move that GQ says is purely artistic but some have considered disrespectful to Williams. The typography for the cover was actually handwritten by designer Virgil Abloh, who uses quotation marks in his designs. Abloh teamed with Nike and Williams for her US Open outfit which featured “Serena” in quotations on her trainers and “Logo” on her tutu dress.
Because it was handwritten by Virgil Abloh of Off-White, who has styled everything in quotation marks as of late (see Serena’s US Open apparel that he designed)
— Mick Rouse (@mickrouse) November 12, 2018
Questions aside, the honor pegs Serena as a standing icon of her sport, even after one of the most controversial points of her career.
The six-time US Open champion was bedridden for six weeks following her pregnancy in 2017 and got off to a rough start in 2018, suffering early exits early in the year. Then she withdrew from a French Open bout with Maria Sharapova due to a pectoral injury and entered Wimbledon with just a No. 25 ranking despite six career wins there. Williams finished the year on a climb, however, advancing to the Wimbledon final and then doing the same at the US Open.
In August, she easily topped Forbes’ list of highest-earning female athletes, confirming her value as one of sports’ most marketable names.
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