The green light has been given to air a TV series about Serena Williams and her return to the tour since having a baby.
‘Being Serena’ will be a five-part documentary aired on American TV channel HBO. The programme will focus on Williams’ life, both on and off the court, as she returns to competitive tennis. Some of the topics set to be covered include her marriage to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the birth of her daughter and the medical complications that followed.
“When I realized that I was pregnant I was like, ‘Oh my God. How am I going to play?’ Williams says in the “Being Serena” trailer. “I put so much pressure on myself. I want to make sure that I’m the best.”
The 36-year-old returned to the WTA Tour earlier this month at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. In her first tournament for 13 months, Williams scored wins over Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens. Losing in the third round to sister Venus. More recently, she suffered a first round defeat to Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open.
“I don’t know if there is anything left for me in tennis.” Williams admits in the trailer for the upcoming show. “But I’m not done yet.”
Pete Nelson, who is the executive vice president of HBO Sports, has said his network is ‘honoured’ to be working with Williams. During her career, the American has won 72 WTA titles, of which 23 of those occurred in a grand slam tournament. She in one major title away for equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
“HBO is honoured to work with Serena Williams on such a personal project,” Nelson said in a statement. “Even though she has been in the spotlight since her teenage years, Serena continues to capture the imagination.”
According to the Huffington Post, Being Serena will start on May 2nd. It will be aired at 10pm on HBO (American time) with the remaining episodes being shown every Wednesday at the same time. The show is being produced in partnership with IMG’s Original Content Group.
