Serena Williams’ achievements on the tennis court and the records she has created will be spoken about for generations but in this article, we will take a look at how the 23-time singles Grand Slam champion became the first female athlete billionaire.
The legendary player has earned a staggering amount of $94,518,971 from tennis and won 855 matches and lost just 152 in singles competition. In the doubles circuit, she has won 14 Grand Slam titles. She has also won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles Add four Olympic gold medals to the list and you will be able to fathom the greatness of the highest-paid female athlete of all time.
The 40-year-old has won as many as 73 singles titles and 23 doubles titles. She reached the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles rankings.
Since 2014, the Serena Ventures team has invested in over 50 start-up companies. Her top five investments are as follows:
- Miami Dolphins – Serena and her elder sister Venus Williams acquired a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins in 2009. She continues to own her equity stake.
- Olly – Serena Williams led the investors’ list in Olly’s $6 million funding round. Reports suggest that it sold for over $45 million to Unilever which is a seven-time increased return.
- Andela – In 2019, Serena invested in Andela’s Series D funding which is worth over $1.5 billion and it will IPO in the near future.
- Tonal – Today, Tonail has a value of over $1.6 billion. However, Serena invested in the company in 2019 and hit the bulls-eye once again.
- UFC – Investing in UFC was a great decision on the part of Serena. UFC has a huge dedicated fanbase and the numbers are increasing every day. Williams invested back in 2016 and since then, it has climbed from a valuation of $5 billion to $10 billion.
Some more notable investments of Serena Williams and her brand endorsements
Serena Williams has also invested in companies like Liquid IV, Mercury, Poshmark, Clubhouse, Chatdesk, Daily Harvest, Alchemy 43, CoinTracker, Masterclass, Impossible Foods, OpenSponsorship, and many more.
Serena Williams earns in excess of $15 million per year from brand endorsements. The list of brands she endorses is given below:
- Intel
- Pepsi
- Wilson
- Chase Bank
- Audemars Piguet
- IBM
- Nike
- Delta Air Lines
- Gatorade
- Upper Deck
- Beats by Dre
Serena Williams’ Philanthropy
The legendary tennis star started the Serena Williams Fund and donated to 13 different charities. She raised $65,000 for the Kaikoura earthquake recovery.
The former world No. 1 is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has also helped in building schools for children in Africa and the Caribbean.
Williams has won the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award on four occasions – 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018. In December 2015, she was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine.
In 2021, she was ranked 28th on Forbes’ World’s Highest-Paid Athletes list.
Will Serena Williams take part in the upcoming US Open Grand Slam?
The last Grand Slam of the year begins on August 29. Serena Williams will be seen in action at Flushing Meadows and this will be just her second Grand Slam appearance since returning from an injury she suffered last year at Wimbledon.
Williams played at SW19 this year but crashed out in the first round following a defeat to the youngster Harmony Tan from France. The veteran would be looking to ride on the home support and have a longer run at the US Open competition. She has won the singles title on six occasions in the competition – 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014. As far as doubles event is concerned, Williams won the US Open title on two occasions – 1999 and 2009.
Williams is currently ranked 401 in the WTA rankings. She has moved down the rankings mainly due to missing almost a year of action. Her last singles Grand Slam win came back in 2017 when she won the Australian Open title.
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