After stepping away from tennis, Serena Williams has developed into a well-known investor both inside and outside of the sports industry. Among her other business endeavors are investments in the soccer team Angel City FC and the golf club Los Angeles Golf Club (LAGC).
Additionally, the 23-time grand slam champion expressed her “extreme interest” in acquiring a WNBA team to expand her resume to CNN’s Amanda Davies.
“I would definitely be interested in that.” She acknowledged the “moment” that women’s basketball is having following a successful NCAA tournament that broke numerous viewing records, saying, “With the right market, I would definitely be super interested in that.”
Only maintaining that interest is the WNBA Draft, which is scheduled for Monday and in which Caitlin Clark is predicted to be selected first overall.
Williams’ business Serena Ventures had already made investments in 66 startups, including 16 unicorns (businesses worth more than $1 billion), before she even left the tennis world. Additionally, she has worked to support entrepreneurs who are traditionally underrepresented; women and people of color have founded 78% of the startups in which Serena Ventures has invested.
Williams adds that women’s sports are “an overly safe bet to me when it comes to investing,” citing his experience as an investor.
“There isn’t a risk factor,” she declared. “Watching women is fascinating, and women’s sports are thrilling.” What makes a difference? I believe that college women’s basketball attracted even more viewers than men’s basketball. People are starting to realize that’s exciting to watch, I believe.
Williams has invested in all of these projects personally in addition to putting money into Olympia, her six-year-old daughter, who is now a part owner of LAGC and Angel City FC.
Even more, Serena’s husband Alexis Ohanian announced on X, the former Twitter platform, that Olympia was now the youngest professional sports team owner at two teams, and that their unborn daughter Adira also owned a portion of LAGC.
When asked why she chose to invest in her daughters’ names, Williams replied, “It’s how I was raised when I was young.”
“I remember when we were very young because my dad made us open our own bank accounts. We had $100, so obviously he and my mom had to co-sign,” she recalled. Even at the age of five or so, we recognized the value of ownership.
“And for that reason, I believe she will always understand the value of being an owner and an entrepreneur as well as the part they will play because, trust me, she will work for it as soon as she can because it isn’t free. She must put effort into that. And I believe she’ll accept that.
