The GOAT Serena Williams has been tapped to host the 2024 Espys Awards, set for July 10 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The news was announced Tuesday during Disney‘s Upfront presentation in New York City.
Williams, regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, was ranked world No.1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association for 319 weeks, including a joint-record 186 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No.1 five times. She won 23 major (Grand Slam) women’s singles titles, the most in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time.
She earned 14 doubles titles with her sister Venus and two mixed doubles titles. Williams retired in September 2022, walking away with 73 singles titles and $94.8 million in prize earnings, per the WTA Tour.
Williams currently has several TV/film projects in the works including an ESPN docuseries, first announced at last year’s Disney upfront. She most recently voiced Yoga/Yvette on PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie and served as an executive producer on the 2021 feature King Richard, starring and produced by Will Smith.
Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Argentina and Inter Miami soccer star Lionel Messi were double winners at last year’s Espys Awards. Mahomes was named Best Athlete, Men’s Sports, and Best NFL Player and his Chiefs won the ESPY for Best Team. Messi won for Best Soccer Player and Best Championship Performance, the latter for leading Argentina to his first World Cup championship in 2022. Other 2023 Espy winners included U.S. ski champion Mikaela Shiffrin, L.A. Lakers star LeBron James and then-Los Angeles Angels and current L.A. Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.