PARIS: Roger Federer has been named International Tennis Federation (ITF) champion for the fifth time with Serena Williams taking the women’s award for the second time.

Federer had an oustanding year regaining the world No1 ranking from Rafael Nadal after completing a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros with victory over Robin Soderling.

He went on to surpass Pete Sampras by winning his 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Federer was also runner-up at the Australian Open, where he lost in five sets to Nadal, and the US Open, where he also went down in five sets to Juan Martin del Potro, and helped his country retain its World Group status in Davis Cup.

Serena Williams becomes the women’s World Champion for the first time since 2002 after producing her best performances at the biggest events. The 28-year-old American captured two Grand Slam titles, at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, to improve her collection to 11 majors.

She went on to win the season-ending WTA Championships in Doha, sealing the No 1 ranking in the last event of the year.