Serena Williams takes to social media to congratulate Will Smith on winning the NAACP Image Award for King Richard
King Richard continues to stack up accolades, giving the film's production team, as well as the Williams family, good reason to celebrate. Based on the life of Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard, the film traces the champion duo's formative years.
Actor Will Smith was recently named the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Awards 2022 for his portrayal of Richard Williams.
Serena Williams was one of the first to react to the news of Smith winning the award as she took to social media to share her appreciation.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion uploaded a picture of Smith as Richard Williams on her Instagram stories, writing "big congratulations Willl Smith."
"Big congratulations @willlsmith on your NAACP win!! @kingrichard," she wrote in her Instagram story.
Will Smith also took home the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography for his eponymously named book 'Will'.
The actor later took to Instagram to thank the Maryland-based NAACP for the award, recalling the "long excruciating journey" leading up to the book.
"Thank you! @naacpimageawards!! It was a long excruciating journey — extracting this book from the clutches of my terrified inner child. So, to be honored in this way is like cool water on the flames of my wildest insecurities!" Smith wrote on Instagram.
Serena Williams languishing at the No. 237 in WTA rankings
Serena Williams last played a competitive match at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where she was forced to retire from her opening-round encounter against Aliaksandra Sasnovich after suffering a foot injury.
The American's continued absence from the WTA tour has taken a toll on her ranking. She recently dropped out of the top 200 after dropping the points earned during her semi-final run at the 2021 Australian Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion did see a minor improvement in her standing in the latest updated rankings, climbing four places to go from No. 241 to No. 237. Sister Venus Williams, meanwhile, dropped another five places to No. 470 on Monday.