Serena Williams Will Retire With a Fortune — And a Business to Focus On
Serena Williams could be retiring from professional tennis in 2022 with a net worth of $250 million. She's likely to shift her focus to Serena Ventures.
Aug. 9 2022, Published 10:23 p.m. ET
The world is undoubtedly full of skilled and talented athletes, but professional tennis player Serena Williams will go down in history as one of the greatest. With 23 Grand Slam titles under her belt and more endorsements than you know what to do with, the world of tennis won’t be the same without Williams charging across the court.
You heard it correctly. Williams has hinted that she’s preparing to retire from tennis, possibly with the 2022 U.S. Open serving as her last game, Fox News reported. Get the scoop on how much Williams is worth today and what she plans on doing following her retirement.
Serena Jameka Williams
American professional tennis player
Net worth: $250 million
Serena Williams began playing tennis at the young age of four and went pro in 1995. Her parents, Oracene Price and Richard Williams, coached her and her sister Venus throughout their careers along with mentors.
Birthdate: September 26, 1981
Birthplace: Saginaw, Mich.
Spouse: Alexis Ohanian
Kids: 1 (Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.)
Residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
What is Serena Williams’ net worth?
As one of the greatest female athletes of all time, and also the highest paid, according to Celebrity Net Worth, one can only wonder how large of a fortune Williams has amassed from her career. Williams reportedly earned between “$30 million and $40 million from on-court earnings and endorsements” in recent years, helping her to build her net worth up to $250 million.
Much of Serena Williams’ net worth comes from endorsements.
While Williams’ athletic abilities have certainly helped her on the court, they’ve done an excellent job at building her fortune off the court. Throughout her career as a world champion professional tennis player, Williams has landed endorsement deal after endorsement deal.
In 2004, Williams scored a $40 million deal with Nike to produce a fashion line, reports Celebrity Net Worth. After years of collaborating, the shoe and athletic apparel retailer issued a press release in June 2022 that introduced its largest office building at Nike World Headquarters–the Serena Williams Building (SW).
The building stretches across 1 million square feet, which Nike says is equivalent to 140 full-size tennis courts, and “brings together for the first time Nike’s design, insights, and product-merchandising teams.”
In addition to partnering with Nike, Williams has also signed endorsement deals with brands like Subway, Gucci, and Kraft. In April 2021, Deadline shared that Williams had signed a first-look TV deal with Amazon Studios to produce a docuseries that will “follow Williams’ professional and personal life.”
Williams earned more than “$94 million in career prize money.”
When it comes to sources of income, Williams has plenty of them. Not only is she collecting checks from her endorsement deals and appearances, but she has also watched her bank account balance grow considerably thanks to her ability to win.
Over the course of her career as a tennis player, Williams has collected about $94 million in career prize money, according to Forbes.
Serena Williams may shift her focus from tennis to her venture capitalist firm.
While we don’t know for sure when Williams will retire (she’s hinted 2022 could be it), Vogue released a snippet from its September 2022 issue revealing the tennis player is preparing “to say farewell to tennis on her own terms and in her own words.” Williams told Vogue, “It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine.” While she admitted that she isn’t ready for it to be over, she’s “ready for what’s next.”
Perhaps Williams will shift her focus to her firm, Serena Ventures, which has “invested in more than 60 startups” and has “raised an inaugural fund of $111 million,” reports Forbes. She and her sister, Venus Williams, are also part owners of the Miami Dolphins after purchasing a minority stake in 2009.
Although it may be difficult for Williams to walk away from a career she has been tied to for most of her life so far, it looks like she has plenty of lucrative opportunities ahead of her.