Serena, Venus still America's favorite female athletes

Venus (left) and Serena Williams are America's favorite athletes for the third straight year. (US Presswire)

America has spoken. The Williams sisters are still the nation's favorite female sports stars, according to a recent poll from Harris Interactive.

For the third straight year, Serena tops the list of America’s Favorite Female Sports Stars, a poll of 2,163 adults aged 18 and over conducted in late June, while older sister Venus maintains her spot at No. 2.

Serena and Venus have both battled injuries that have kept them on the sideline for much of the past year, causing them to plummet in the rankings to 172 and 35, respectively. Serena has not relinquished the top spot since 2009, despite an ugly incident at the U.S. Open that year that saw her yell at and threaten a line judge for a costly foot-fault call.

Race car driver Danica Patrick is still the third favorite, while Maria Sharapova jumps up a place to No. 4. Other tennis players to crack the list's top 10 are former player Anna Kournikova at No. 6, and Martina Navratilova at No. 7.