By Ron Wynn
ESPN last week launched a new eight-part docuseries that celebrates the career of tennis star Serena Williams. “In The Arena” showcases milestones in her career that covered 27 years and saw her win 23 Grand Slam singles titles as well as Olympic medals. It also covers other milestones in her life while also pointing out some challenging moments. Each episode will air on ESPN + exclusively, which means that fans who want to see it must have a subscription to that ESPN streaming service.
The eight episodes began July 10 and continue through August 28 every Wednesday night at 11 p.m. central. They revolve around specific pivotal moments in her life and mix on-court footage with personal reflections and interview segments. The series is directed by Gotham Chopra and co-directed by Lauren Fisher. It’s co-produced by ESPN; Religion of Sports, Tom Brady’s 199 Productions and Williams and Caroline Currier’s Nine Two Six Productions and presented by Morgan Stanley. “The best thing that happened to my career was coming up behind my sister,” is one of the comments made by Williams in the trailer that debuted online last week. Two episodes were also shown earlier last month at the Tribeca Festival in New York. “My dad, he got my sister out there, and then he started to say I was going to be better,” Williams continued. “I looked different. I played different. I was more emotional. I had muscle. I was something no one had ever seen before,” Serena continues in the clip. Her sister, Venus, then adds, “She really became a monster on the court in the most beautiful way.”
The series also comes in the wake of this being the first Wimbledon since the late ‘90s that didn’t feature either Williams sister as a participant. The Williams sisters collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles, with Venus taking five and Serena 12.
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