The tennis star is gearing up to host the ESPY Awards on Thursday.
ByShafiq Najib andYi-Jin Yuvia
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July 10, 2024, 10:37 AM ET
• 6 min read
Serena Williams talks hosting ESPY AwardsThe tennis superstar dishes on her preparation to host the 2024 ESPY Awards as well as her new ESPN docuseries, “In the Arena: Serena Williams.”ABC News
Serena Williams is opening up about her preparations to host the 2024 ESPY Awards, her new docuseries “In the Arena: Serena Williams” and her life as a mother of two.
Despite her busy schedule, ahead of the annual awards show, the 23-time Grand Slam champion sat down with ABC News’ Will Reeve for an interview which aired Wednesday on “Good Morning America.”
“It’s really busy and it’s really fun to be Serena right now,” Williams said of all of her ongoing projects. “I love it.”
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Serena Williams speaks with Will Reeve, July 10, 2024, on “Good Morning America.”
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Williams said her preparations to host the ESPYS so far are coming along.
“I’ve been in rehearsals and it’s going OK,” she said. “I don’t know. Oh, my God, I’m definitely nervous!”
The tennis star added that she is “totally intimidated by large crowds” when she’s not playing on the court.
In this Aug. 31, 2022, file photo, Serena Williams hits a forehand against Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the second round of the women’s singles of the US Open, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York.
Frey/TPN/Getty Images, FILE
“I mean, another option is just to put on a tennis outfit and grab a racket and grab some balls and maybe just start hitting or something,” Williams joked.
When the stars of the sports world descend on the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Thursday, Williams said she’s most excited to see one group in particular.
“This is the year for ladies in sport, and I’m excited to see all the ladies kind of rule the ESPYS and just be super awesome,” she said.
Serena Williams speaks at the Essence Festival of Culture at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, on July 6, 2024, in New Orleans.
Josh Brasted/FilmMagic via Getty Images
In addition to hosting the ESPYS this week, Williams’ docuseries “In the Arena: Serena Williams” is now streaming on ESPN+. The first few episodes dropped Wednesday.
“It is a really intimate look on a few of the championships that I won, because we couldn’t do all of them,” the 42-year-old explained. “‘Cause what everyone saw for so many years is they just saw me winning or me holding up a trophy or me angry or me doing things that may or may not have been crazy. So, I feel like, what was behind those moments?”
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In episode 1 of “In the Arena,” Williams said she needed to be different because she was different. The tennis great said that feeling still stays with her today.
“I definitely find myself still needing to be different, but I also need to also learn how to just be normal and find out what is my normal,” she said.
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For Williams now, her new “normal” means being more present in her childrens’ lives.
“[Normal looks like] going to my daughter’s school. I want to be, like, volunteer of the year. Obviously, now, that’s my new goal, being No. 1 at being the volunteer of the school,” the mom of two joked. “I got to be the greatest.”
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