According to Ypulse’s recent survey on sports and athletics, Serena Williams ranked as the favorite athlete among Gen Z and Millennial (13-36-year-olds) for the first time.

Ypulse said the tennis stars’ climb comes after three years of seeing Steph Curry and LeBron James often change places for favorite athlete.

Overall, the top 15 were:

  1. Serena Williams
  2. Lionel Messi
  3. Steph Curry
  4. LeBron James
  5. Cristiano Ronaldo
  6. Tom Brady
  7. Aaron Rodgers
  8. Kobe Bryant
  9. Michael Phelps
  10. Tiger Woods
  11. Michael Jordan
  12. Roger Federer
  13. Aaron Judge
  14. Colin Kaepernick
  15. Carson Wentz / Rafael Nadal (tied for 15th)

Last year, Williams was third in the ranking, but the past year has put her even more firmly in the public eye, with personal stories of a pregnancy and marriage making headlines, noted Ypulse.

While some males named Williams as a favorite, female fans were the drivers of her top ranking. Williams’ strength was a major theme in their reasons for naming the tennis player. One 23-year-old female explained, “She’s just so tough and incredible,” while a 14-year-old female said “She is strong and I like her love of tennis.” One 22-year-old female told us, “She is a great representative of what women can do in sports.”

Another theme seen was Williams representing women of color especially. One 29-year-old said, “She’s a strong black woman who also had a baby while playing tennis. She seems like a strong cool lady.” Another respondent explained, “She’s an inspiration to all women, especially WOC,” and a 24-year-old female said simply, “She is the epitome of black girl magic.”

While Williams makes the top five for all groups, she is number four on the male ranking, while Lionel Messi took the top spot—thanks perhaps to the World Cup, which was airing close to the time the survey was fielded. Messi’s skill on the soccer field were the focus of the respondents who named him as a favorite, with words like “legend” used to describe him.

Ypulse noted that while Williams makes the top five for all groups, she is number four on the male ranking, while Lionel Messi took the top spot—thanks perhaps to the World Cup, which was airing close to the time the survey was fielded. Messi’s skill on the soccer field were the focus of the respondents who named him as a favorite, with words like “legend” used to describe him.

Photo courtesy Nike