2015 Year in Review Slideshow: Sports

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Top events for the nation and the world in 2015

The U.S. Women's Soccer Team: U.S. Beats Japan in Women's World Cup; In the 2015 Women's World Cup Final in Vancouver, British Columbia, the U.S. routed Japan, 5-2. It was a rematch of the 2011 final, which Japan won with penalty kicks. Carli Lloyd scored the first hat trick in Women's World Cup final history, scoring three goals in the first fifteen minutes of the game. Lloyd was awarded the Golden Ball for being the World Cup's most outstanding player. It's a record third World Cup for the U.S. women, having previously won in 1991 and 1999.; Pictured: Abby Wambach Photo source: Elaine Thompson via AP

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors have a record-breaking, championship year; The Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in a thrilling NBA finals. It was the first NBA championship in forty years for the Warriors and their fourth overall. The Warriors became the first team since the 1990-91 Chicago Bulls to win a championship without any player on the roster having previous experience in the finals. Golden State's Andre Iguodala was named the Finals Most Valuable Player. The first two games of the series went into overtime, an NBA record. The Warriors began the following 2015-2016 season by winning a record 24 consecutive games in a row before losing their 25 game of the season in Milwaukee to the Bucks, 108-95.; Photo source: AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Serena Williams: The dominate tennis player of her generation has another amazing year; Serena Williams won her third French Open women's championship by beating Lucie Safarova, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. The win gave Williams her 20th singles title, putting her third on the all-time list behind Margaret Court (24 titles) and Steffi Graf (22 titles). She would go on to win Wimbledon for a 21st singles title. In Aug. 2015, at the U.S. Open, she attempted to tie Steffi Graf's record as well as win a calendar grand slam (all four major tournaments in the same year.) She came up short, losing in the semifinals. However, 2015 was still a remarkable year for Williams. In Dec., Sports Illustrated named her Sportsperson of the Year.; Photo source: Pavel Golovkin for Associated Press

American Pharoah: American Pharoah Wins Triple Crown; With his win at the Belmont Stakes, American Pharoah became the first winner of the Triple Crown since 1978.; Photo source: AP Photo/Garry Jones, File

Jeff Gordon: The NASCAR star retired from racing this year; NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon announced in early 2015 that this would be his last year racing. Gordon raced full-time for 23 NASCAR seasons. He won the Sprint Cup Championship four times in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001.; Photo source: AP Photo/Ralph Freso

Lewis Hamilton: Formula One recording-breaking rock star; Lewis Hamilton won his third Formula One World Championship in 2015. He previously won in 2008 and 2014. Hamilton currently has more Formula One victories (43 wins) than any other British driver in the history of the sport.; Photo source: AP Photo/Luca Bruno

Tom Brady: The NFL quarterback made headlines with another Super Bowl win and deflategate; Tom Brady began 2015 by winning his fourth super bowl with the New England Patriots. However, he was also at the center of the team's deflategate controversy and suspended for the first four games of the 2015-2016 NFL season. After hearing Tom Brady's appeal, Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to uphold Brady's four game suspension. However, in early Sept., Judge Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan reversed Brady's four game suspension. Judge Berman's decision did not cover if Brady tampered with the footballs or if Brady knew that the team's employees had been deflating them. Instead, the ruling said that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did not have the authority to suspend Brady under the contract between the NFL and the players' union.; Photo source: Charles Krupa/AP

Kobe Bryant: The Basketball star announced that the 2015-2016 NBA season would be his last; One of the NBA's most controversial stars, Kobe Bryant announced that the 2015-2016 season would be his last. Bryant won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team he's played for since he entered the league in 1996. However, his off court life has also dominated headlines over the years. In July 2003, Bryant was charged with sexual assault. He denied the allegations. After the case was dismissed, Bryant settled with the woman in a civil suit out of court. In 2010, Bryant became the Lakers all-time leading scorer.; Photo source: AP Photo/Alex Gallardo

Kansas City Royals: The Royals win the 2015 World Series; After losing to the San Francisco Giants in game 7 of the World Series in 2014, the Kansas City Royals defeated the New York Mets to win their first title in 30 years. The Royals won in five thrilling games. The final game ended in the 12th inning when the team scores five runs to win 7-2.; Photo source: AP Photo/Peter Morgan