Will fashion help Serena Williams grow her US$260-million fortune post-retirement?

Tennis legend Serena Williams announced that this year’s US Open will be her last grand slam and is gearing to focus on expanding her family and growing her various businesses.

A fashion icon both on and off the court, it was fitting that the GOAT released news of her retirement in Vogue magazine’s September issue. Having featured on the cover of Vog

ue a number of times over the years, fashion has always been an outlet for her to express herself or address pop culture references on the court.

Williams shares that while it is unfair that she has to stop playing to attend to the physical demands of bearing children, she loves motherhood. And instead of seeing this transition as retirement, a sentiment she dislikes, the holder of 23 Grand Slam titles says this is a new opportunity to grow her other passions. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family,” she writes in the Vogue article.

Running a fashion label and venture capital fund Serena Ventures, which has already raised US$111 million since 2014, according to Crunchbase, it looks like a departure from tennis won’t stop the star from growing her US$260-million net worth.

Williams has always loved fashion and is regarded as one of the most colourful and stylish players in tennis; her passion for fashion started long before the launch of her eponymous collection in 2019.

Long before the controversial all-black catsuit she wore at the 2018 French Open to manage blood clots following the birth of her daughter Olympia with husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Williams has been making statements with her tennis attire.

Together with sister Venus, Williams brought colour and fun to the courts with beaded braids when they first appeared on the tennis circuit in 1995. In the years that followed, Williams became an ambassador for Puma. But it wasn’t until 2004, when she signed on with Nike, that her tennis outfits became powerful fashion statements. That same year, she sported the first of many all-black outfits that laid the groundwork for her 2018 French Open look.

With Nike, Williams was able to bring on elements of street and high fashion to her tennis fits. In 2005, she wore matching knee-high sneaker boots with a matching lime green outfit at the Australian Open.

Williams is not afraid to make statements with her fashion choices. In 2013, perhaps as a jab at Wimbledon’s stringent all-white dress code criticised for being elitist, the player showed up in a white Nike blazer over top of her top and shirt.

She’s also known to give design input for her game ensembles and the Serena Williams Collection Streetwear with Nike. A fashion lover off-court, Williams has a keen eye that’s seen her incorporate streetwear elements in her tennis outfits. Working with streetwear brand Off-White’s designer, the late Virgil Abloh, she wore black and lavender versions of a one-piece tutu launched with Nike at the 2018 US Open.

Her love for design extends well beyond the courts. A regular attendee of the Met Gala, one of the world’s biggest fashion and well-attended red carpet events, she’s been dressed by top designers from Gucci to Versace.

The tennis star launched her own fashion brand S by Serena in 2019, offering body-inclusive smart casual womenswear. She also started an ethically-sourced diamond accessories brand Serena Williams Jewellery.

Also see: How sports inspired the world’s biggest names in luxury fashion