Serena Williams is set to retire from professional tennis after accumulating a huge amount of prize money
Serena Williams will retire from tennis with an estimated $450 million in career earnings. The figure is top among all female athletes, with Maria Sharapova a distant second at an estimated $325 million. Serena has indicated that she will retire after this year’s US Open.
Serena Williams has been active on the WTA tour for more than 27 years, having turned pro in 1995. Williams’ success led to unprecedented earnings on and off the court. Her $94.6 million in career prize money is more than double that of Venus, who ranks second with $42.3 million in career earnings. Off the court, Serena has made more than $350 million in endorsements since turning pro in 1995.
Serena Williams intends to focus on business and expand her family after retirement from Tennis
Serena has spent much of the past few years off the court preparing for the moment she decided to move on, including by setting up a venture capitalist company, Serena Ventures, and investing in various organizations. However, she explained that one of her biggest reasons for retirement is her intention to further expand her family. Williams gave birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia, in 2017.
“I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family”, stated Serena.
Serena also plans to grow her business. She is the founder of Serena Ventures, which raised $111 million in an inaugural funding round earlier this year. The venture capital firm focuses on startups with underrepresented founders (which make up 76% of its portfolio), including women, Latinos, African Americans, and other underrepresented groups.
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