For year's the magazine has selected a singular woman or group but due to it being Women's History Month, TIME have decided to name 100 who are the most influential on the last century. The article said the following on why this has been done.
"For 72 years, TIME named a Man of the Year. With a few exceptions, it was almost always a man, usually a President or a Prime Minister or perhaps a titan of industry. Throughout history, these are the kinds of men who have wielded influence over the world. In 1999, Man of the Year gave way to Person of the Year.
While the name rightly changed, too often the choice was the same. With this 100 Women of the Year project, we’re spotlighting influential women who were often overshadowed."
Sam Gregory in his piece for the TIME Magazine article said the following: "Williams was just 21 years old. If she’d peaked then, she would have earned accolades as an all-time great. But nearly two decades and 23 major titles—a record for the Open era—later, she has more clout than ever.
Her influence extends far beyond the baseline. Critics have called her racist names and tried to shame her for her muscular frame. But Williams has embraced her body, and her blackness, with the same force as one of her two-handed backhands: even her occasional outbursts at umpires spark national debates about decorum and double standards.
She’s battled injuries and life-threatening illnesses, including a complicated delivery of her daughter Olympia in 2017. Months later, however, Williams returned to the women’s tour, at 36, as the world’s most famous working mom."
https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1235622304714862592