Serena Williams hit the red carpet at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival to attend the premiere of her new eight-part documentary series, "In the Arena: Serena Williams". The series is set to air on ESPN+ on July 10.
"In my position as a teenager at 14, I kind of had to be guarded to stay sane," Williams told the Associated Press. "Just being in so much press and doing everything that I was doing, traveling the globe every year. It wasn't like you were on tour and you took a break and you took a couple of years off. It was every week.
"So it was a grind. It's really cool to see a true side of what happens behind the scenes."
"I was something that no one had ever seen before. Ever." —@serenawilliams
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2024
"In the Arena: Serena Williams" makes its Tribeca Festival premiere today, and Episode 1 comes to ESPN+ July 10 🎬 pic.twitter.com/h0Ir88bLQe
From an ESPN press release: "Following the success of the Emmy-winning Man in the Arena: Tom Brady, Serena’s expansion of the franchise will be a multi-part series that provides the most complete, intimate, and compelling account of her legendary career, featuring firsthand perspective from Serena and key figures throughout her life.
"Several of Serena’s most significant Grand Slam tournaments and defining personal milestones are examined and decoded in detail. The series juxtaposes Serena’s spectacular on-court achievements and cultural impact with dramatic personal challenges. Through it all, Serena fights to maintain her place atop the tennis world while juggling the transformational experience of starting a family."
Williams finished her game-changing career in 2022 after winning 73 Hologic WTA Tour titles, including an Open Era record 23 Grand Slam titles.
"I didn't need to blend in," Williams narrates in the ESPN teaser. "I needed to be different because I was different. I was something that no one had ever seen before. Ever."
