Serena Williams to be honored with Jackie Robinson Sports Award at 54th NAACP Image Awards

Serena Williams will be honored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the 54th NAACP Image Awards as the recipient of the Jackie Robinson Sports Award.

The Jackie Robinson Sports Award is an honorary NAACP Image award that is named after baseball legend Jackie Robinson, who was the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.

The likes of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Stephen Curry have previously won the award and Serena Williams will be this year's recipient at the NAACP Image Awards, which will take place on February 25.

"We are honoring the GOAT! 23-time Grand Slam champion @serenawilliams will receive the prestigious Jackie Robinson Sports Award during the 54th NAACP Image Awards," the NAACP tweeted.

NAACP CEO Derrick Johnson heaped praise on Williams, calling her the "quintessential example of black excellence."

“Serena Williams is the quintessential example of Black excellence. From her record-breaking wins on the tennis court to her business acumen to her philanthropic endeavors, she has set the bar for athletes everywhere. We are proud to honor and celebrate her with this year’s Jackie Robinson Sports Award," Johnson said.

Serena Williams had a hard time believing husband Alexis Ohanian on her first meeting with him

Williams with her husband Alexis Ohanian at the 2022 US Open

Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian talked about the couple's first meeting in a recent interview with Forbes. The Reddit co-founder said that he was sweating while explaining that his company was yet to have an app at the time.

"She asked me what I did," Ohanian said. "I said I started and run this company called Reddit. She pretended like she knew of it but she didn't. She goes to her phone and searches the app store and she's like, 'How do you spell it?’ and I'm like ‘R-E-D-D-I-T.’ I'm sweating because I have to try to explain to her that we don't have an app."

Williams stated that she didn't believe him at the time since she hadn't heard about Reddit or find any app like it.

“I was like, I haven't heard of it. And there's no app? It mustn't be real," the 41-year-old said.

It has been over six months since Williams announced her retirement from tennis. The former World No. 1's final appearance on court came at the US Open, where she reached the third round after wins over Danka Kovinic and then-World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit. She then lost to Ajla Tomljanovic.