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Tennis G.O.A.T. Takes on a New Challenge – Venture Capital
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Goodbyes are never easy, and when it comes to sports – a goodbye can bring any fan or athlete to tears. On Tuesday, one of Tennis’ biggest superstars (and the GOAT if you ask me) said goodbye to the game she has dominated for decades. Serena Williams announced that she will be moving on from her WTA career after the US Open in September.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, who has earned approximately $94.6m in prize money over her career (highest in WTA history) and over $340 million in endorsements announced her decision in an interview and article in Vogue Magazine on Tuesday. 27 years after her first professional match in Quebec City, she played her last match in Canada yesterday (August 10) in the National Bank Open – in front of a sold-out crowd of 9500 fans.
In the Vogue piece, Williams opened up about her love for the sport and her family – and how she found it difficult to have to choose one over the other (as she turns 41 this month, she hopes to have a second child with her husband). We learn about Serena the competitor, and about how much her daughter Olympia means to her and her decision. Beyond this, we also get to learn about her newest challenge – Serena Ventures.
Williams founded Serena Ventures in 2014 and has raised an initial fund of $111m focused on changing the venture capital ecosystem with a focus on inclusivity. Williams cites being inspired by a talk at a JP Morgan Chase-organized conference, where she learned that less than 2% of venture capital (VC) money went to women founders.
For Williams, Serena Ventures is out to do just that and disrupt the status quo, though their website does note that “[they] don’t require founders to come from historically underrepresented backgrounds, yet 76% of [their] portfolio founders do”. In fact, Serena Ventures was a full female team until, as Williams mentions, “we brought in our first guy – a diversity hire!”. Serena Ventures has already funded over 20 companies, in various industries in the tech space.
Serena Williams lives for competition (shocker). Her drive to win on the court is fueling her passion to help underrepresented founders win in the boardroom. She serves as a role model for athletes in all sports as a champion, and now, a brand - and something tells us that Serena does not plan on coming up short in the venture capital world.
August 12, 2022 - Issue 51 of The Sport Marketeer