Serena Williams's next trailblazing gig

Serena Williams is a busy retired person. Perhaps only Roger Federer could compete with her as the busiest recently retired tennis player.

Williams is busy raising her two daughters Olympia and Adira, running her businesses, and making occasional public appearances, most recently to watch tennis at March's Miami Open and at the Met Gala in early May.

However, Williams has a new gig on the horizon, and given the fact that she retired from professional tennis in Fall 2022, it is a great time for her to do it.

What Serena Williams is up to next

Serena Williams will host the ESPY Awards in July. She is no stranger to the ESPYs as a twelve-time winner. She frequently could not appear at the awards because she was busy playing on the WTA Tour so being in person for the entire event will be new to her.

She shared her excitement about being the ESPYs host in a statement which said: “I couldn’t be more excited to host the ESPYs. This is a dream come true for me, and something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember. It has been a sensational year for sports and an unprecedented one for female athletes. I can’t wait to celebrate everyone on-stage in July.”

Williams will be the fourth female host and the second female solo host of the event. It is appropriate that she host the 2024 edition of the ESPY Awards on July 11 because female sports have been at the forefront of conversation this year with the NCAA Women's Basketball Championships, the rise of rookie WNBA stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese among others, and a general renewal of interest in female sports athletes. Williams is arguably one of the best female athletes of all time and a pioneer for this generation of female athletes on how to excel at sports and cultivate interests and business opportunities outside of sports.

She joins an elite group of female athletes who have hosted the show. Soccer star Megan Rapinoe and WNBA legend Sue Bird co-hosted a virtual pandemic edition of the show with Russell Wilson in 2020, and race car driver Danica Patrick was the first female solo host in 2018.

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