Serena Williams Net Worth (Money & Salary)

Details on the Net Worth, Salary, and Career Earnings of Serena Williams

With a net worth of $300 million, Serena Williams is highly regarded as one of the greatest female tennis players in history. She stands out as the highest-earning female player with total career on-court earnings exceeding $95 million. Serena holds the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era, among other remarkable achievements such as four Olympic gold medals and numerous major wins.

Over the years, Serena consistently earned around $40 million annually from both her on-court performances and endorsements. For instance, between June 2019 and June 2020, she accumulated total earnings of $35 million, with endorsements contributing approximately $20 million. Following her retirement, Serena shifted her focus to Serena Ventures, her investment firm.

Below are some of Serena’s most significant career milestones:

• Grand Slam singles titles: 23 (a record in the Open Era)
• Grand Slam doubles titles: 14 (most among active players)
• Grand Slam mixed doubles titles: 2
• Olympic gold medals: 4 (in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles)
• WTA Finals titles: 7
• WTA Championships titles: 1
• Australian Open titles: 7
• French Open titles: 3
• Wimbledon titles: 7
• US Open titles: 6
• World No. 1 ranking: 319 total weeks (second only to Steffi Graf with 377 weeks)
• Top-earning female athlete ever: $94.5 million
• Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame: 2022

Serena Williams’s Background

Born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Jameka Williams spent part of her early years in Compton, California. Introduced to tennis at a young age, Serena and her sister Venus Williams received homeschooling to dedicate more time to training. While Richard Williams, their father, and Oracene Price, their mother, served as official coaches, other mentors, like another Richard Williams from Compton, aided in Serena’s early tennis education. At the age of nine, Serena’s family relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, for her enrollment at Rick Macci’s tennis academy. Ultimately, their father resumed coaching duties in 1995 after withdrawing the girls from Macci’s academy.

Professional Journey

Having clinched the number one world ranking on eight occasions, Serena Williams boasts the highest career prize money among female tennis players, surpassing $94 million. Her remarkable 23 singles Grand Slam victories and 14 doubles titles with Venus Williams exemplify her dominance in the sport. Additionally, she secured Olympic gold medals across multiple games.

In her inaugural professional tournament at age 14 in 1995, Serena’s breakthrough came in 1997 at the Ameritech Cup, where, ranked No. 304, she stunned players ranked No. 7 and No. 4 before succumbing in the semifinals. This catapulted her career, and by year-end, she occupied the No. 99 spot.

The subsequent year witnessed notable triumphs, including doubles triumphs at prestigious events like Wimbledon and the US Open. Nonetheless, her first singles title remained elusive until 1999.Williams’ early dominance was evident as she defeated a string of top players and secured her first Grand Slam singles victory at the US Open.

Dominance continued for Serena in the early 2000s, culminating in her rise to the top spot in 2002. That year, she clinched three Grand Slam titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, triumphing over her sister Venus in the final of each event. In 2003, she added the Australian Open to her collection, holding all four major Grand Slam titles simultaneously, which she dubbed the “Serena Slam.” This feat was repeated during the 2014-15 Grand Slam season.

In the ensuing years, Serena faced challenges such as health issues and personal tragedy, including knee surgery and the loss of her half-sister, Yetunde. Despite continuing to win tournaments, her ranking dropped outside the top 10, leading many to speculate that both Serena and Venus were no longer as dominant as before. By 2008, however, Serena reclaimed the top ranking and secured numerous Grand Slam victories.

In 2011, health issues resurfaced as a blood clot was discovered in Serena’s lung. Following procedures to address this condition, many doubted if she would return to the sport. Yet, the following year saw her bag major titles, including her first women’s singles gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Serena continued her winning streak with victories at the US Open in 2012, the French, Australian, and US Opens in 2013, as well as Wimbledon in 2014 and 2015, and triumphs at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2016. Serena faced a challenging 2018 with losses at consecutive US Opens and Wimbledons.

Despite injuries and a break from the sport to focus on parenthood, Serena Williams remained a dominant figure in women’s tennis, holding various records, including 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena retired from professional tennis in September 2022.

Endorsements

Renowned for her endorsements, Williams is among the world’s most sought-after athletes, earning $15-20 million annually from endorsements outside tennis, endorsing brands like Nike and Kraft Foods. In 2004, Serena signed a lucrative $40 million deal with Nike to launch a fashion line.

Activism

Using her social media platform, Williams advocates for various causes, notably supporting Black Lives Matter and the LGBT community. She actively promotes gender equality both on and off the tennis court and openly discusses her challenges as a woman in the tennis industry. Recognized for her activism, Serena has received numerous awards and was honored with the NAACP President’s Award.

Philanthropy

Known for their philanthropic efforts, Serena and Venus frequently visit hospitals and participate in charity tennis matches to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities.In 2004 and 2005, an entire ESPN special was dedicated to their charity tour. Serena Williams is the founder of the Serena Williams Foundation, providing scholarships to universities for underprivileged students and assisting in the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya, alongside the foundation, Helping Hands Jamaica. Additionally, she collaborates with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and serves as an international Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2011. Serena and Venus work jointly on the Williams Sisters Fund, establishing the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton in memory of their late sister. Further, Serena supports various charitable organizations like the Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse project, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the NHS’s Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, the HollyRod Foundation, the Eva Longoria Foundation, among others.

Off the court, Serena has ventured into television and voice acting, featuring in shows like “The Simpsons,” “Higglytown Heroes,” and guest-starring in series like “The Bernie Mac Show,” “ER,” and “Law & Order.” She also appeared in a music video with Alicia Keys and Kanye West for “I Want You” by Common. Serena co-authored a book with her sister, Venus, titled “Venus & Serena: Serving From the Hip: Ten Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning,” in 2005.

Apart from her successful tennis career, Serena is the founder of the self-funded clothing line S by Serena and holds minority stakes in the UFC and the Miami Dolphins. She serves on the board of directors at SurveyMonkey.

In her personal life, Serena Williams tied the knot with Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, in November 2017 in New Orleans, with esteemed guests like Beyonce and Kim Kardashian attending. Serena gave birth to a daughter in 2017, revealing her pregnancy accidentally through a Snapchat post and later sharing her challenging postpartum experiences, including a pulmonary embolism during labor and struggles with postpartum depression. The couple announced in 2023 that they were expecting a second child.

Furthermore, Serena Williams was baptized as a Jehovah’s Witness in Florida in January 2023.

Regarding real estate, Serena owns a Beverly Hills mansion purchased in 2017 for $6.2 million, an apartment in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and a Palm Beach Gardens home in South Florida acquired in 2015 for $2.4 million. She also shared a Palm Beach Gardens mansion with her sister, Venus, bought in 1998 and sold for $2.5 million twenty years later. In Bel-Air, Serena sold her house for $8.1 million in 2019, after reducing the price from $12 million since listing it in October 2017.