SERENA Williams has been announced as the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award winner in the sports category, in recognition of her outstanding tennis career.

The 43-year-old American won 73 singles titles including 23 Grand Slams.

She said in 2022 that she was stepping away from the sport to focus on her family and business interests.

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Williams was chosen after two days of deliberations by a jury in Oviedo that sifted through 30 candidates from 13 countries.

They described her sporting records as ‘unquestionable’.

Last year’s winner was Spain’s badminton star, Carolina Marin, who won Olympic gold in Rio back in 2016.

Serena Williams is the ninth female winner of the Asturias Award and the fourth tennis player, following in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Spain’s Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.

The €50,000 Princess of Asturias Award is one of eight annual prizes covering different spheres, including arts, literature, film, and science.

The awards ceremony takes place in Oviedo this October at the city’s Campoamor Theatre.

Besides the cash prize, each recipient will get a Joan Miro reproductive sculpture plus a certificate and a badge.