Hours before the 2024 WNBA Women’s World Basketball Championship, Serena Williams said she is “very interested” in expanding her portfolio to join an American women’s basketball team.
“I think with the right market, I think people will definitely be very interested in that,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from tennis in 2022, told CNN in an interview. question. exclusive interview to discuss the current landscape surrounding women’s sport.
Williams developed her business acumen throughout her three-decade career on the Hologic WTA Tour. She founded a venture capital firm – Serena Ventures – while still on tour in 2017 and already owns stakes in a National Women’s Soccer League team, Angel City FC, and the Los Angeles Golf Club based in Los Angeles.
According to CNN, Serena Ventures focuses on underrepresented entrepreneurs: 78% of the startups the firm invests in are started by women and people of color. That perspective is what makes women’s sports such an interesting investment opportunity, she said.
“I think women’s sport is having a moment that it always should’ve had.”CNN Exclusive: 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams talks to @AmandaDCNN about the rise of women’s sport and revealed her interest in owning a WNBA team. pic.twitter.com/FwD7iJXAVE
— CNN Sports (@cnnsport) April 15, 2024
“There is no risk (factor),” she said. “Women’s sport is exciting, women are exciting to watch. What’s the difference? … I think that even more people watched the college women’s basketball than the men. So I think that people are realizing that is exciting to watch.”
University of Iowa star Caitlin Clark, who broke the NCAA’s all-time scoring record in her senior season for the Hawkeyes, is expected to be the No. 1 pick in Monday night’s WNBA draft. Williams said that Clark’s transcendent season — which helped the women’s tournament out-draw the men’s in championship viewership — was just the latest addition to the snowballing “moment” that women’s sports across the globe are currently experiencing.
Other sports should take cues from the trailblazing five-decade history of the WTA as an example, she adds. Women’s tennis has historically been the highest-paying sport for women in the world. In 2023, nine of the 10 highest-paid female athletes were WTA players, according to Forbes.
“I think the moment’s been happening, we just needed the right catalyst and the right people. … I think women’s sport is having a moment that it should’ve always had,” she said.
“I feel like tennis has had its moment. It’s international and it’s huge and it’s always going to be there, and it’s time to lift up other sports. … Let’s put it on that platform that tennis is on.”
