England's Fara Williams named Sportswoman of the Month

England and Liverpool Ladies midfielder Fara Williams has won July’s Sportswoman of the Month award.

Williams, 31, beat Wimbledon champion Serena Williams and British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith into second and third spot.

“It’s a massive honour if you look at the list of female athletes I was in there with, I didn’t for one minute think I would win,” Williams told Sportswomen.

One main reason Williams picked up the award was for her 108th-minute penalty against Germany, which gave England a 1-0 win and secured them third place at the Women's World Cup in Canada.

“The tournament as a whole was a massive experience and certainly an eye-opener for people out there watching women’s football," she said.

“What we did and what people witnessed us doing was fantastic. This award is mainly for the team’s success in the World Cup. It was the first time we beat Germany in 21 games and the celebrations from the team show what the goal actually meant.”

On the penalty, Williams said: “I wasn’t nervous taking it - I scored two previous in the tournament so I knew what I had to do.”

This award is mainly for the team’s success in the World Cup.

But it hasn’t been all good news for Williams as she picked up an injury at the start of the new season and is still recovering.

“It was hard but the injury is getting better. I’m three-and-a-half weeks post-injury now, so I’m looking at probably another three-and-a-half then I should be back out there playing.”

On the England Women’s World Cup return, questions were asked if they needed more rest before the new season started.

“I think the girls would have liked a little bit of rest, it was a very long tournament,” Williams added.

“We’d gone all the way, one day before the final. We’d been out there a long time and only had five days to recover before our league game.”

Sportswoman of the Month award:

Fara Williams 42%
Serena Williams 26%
Dina Asher-Smith 20%
Meg Lanning 6%
Jordanne Whiley 5%
In Gee Chun 1%