Tennis icon Serena Williams once tried depositing a $1 million check at a drive-thru ATM

Tennis legend Serena Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her career, brought in about $94.8 million in prize money up till 2022, as per Women’s Tennis Association. During her early career, she often forgot to collect her winnings, she revealed. “I never played for money. I played because I loved the sport ... I wanted to win,” she said in the recent episode of First We Feast’s YouTube talk show “Hot Ones”. 

Serena Williams’ Money Habits Haven’t Changed

Sean Evans, the talk show’s host, asked the tennis superstar about a rumor that said she rarely collected her winnings in her first year of touring and that she once tried to unsuccessfully tried to cash her first million-dollar check at a drive-through ATM.

“Those are all true,” Williams responded.

Williams recalled that after her professional debut, in which she lost a qualifying match she got a $240 check. However, the 14-year-old athlete at the time wasn’t in a rush to spend that money, she said.

Her attitude remained the same when she won her first million-dollar check. While everyone around her was excited, all she wanted to do was deposit it and get back to tennis, she said.

Coming to the drive-through ATM incident, she said, “I just went through the drive-thru and the guy was like, ‘Uh, I think you need to come inside for this.’” She added that it was her “tax guy” who had to remind her about collecting her prize money while she was touring.

However, this doesn’t mean that Williams is financially irresponsible. Williams, who rose from modest beginnings, stated that her outlook on money has always remained the same: “Be responsible and manage your spending”.

In 2014, she launched Serena Ventures, a venture capital fund aimed at supporting women and founders from underrepresented groups. Her firm has investments in over 85 companies and start-ups 14 of which have already achieved unicorn status, as per Forbes.

Serena Williams’ Take on Money Management 

Before Williams became the first-ever 23-time Grand Slam champion, she was a 16-year-old prodigy who bagged real paychecks from tennis and sponsorship deals. In an interview in Bloomberg’s The Deal podcast, she revealed that at the time she turned to her father Richard Williams to manage her money. However, the astute businessman made sure she managed her own finances instead.

In another appearance on the Chase Chats webcast, she shared that her father always cautioned about how athletes lose money.  “He always talked about the importance of not losing it once you get it and not just buying everything you see. That has stuck with me for my whole life,” she told former NBA star Jay Williams on the webcast.

While her father shared some sage advice, Williams later felt that she should have learned more about banking and money management at an early age. Thus, Williams began teaching her daughter, Alexis Olympia, some of the basics of money management at an early age, she shared on the webcast.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 10, 2024. It has since been updated.