Serena Williams, identified for her dominance on the Tennis court docket, is exploring alternatives to channel her affect into ladies’s basketball. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who already holds possession stakes in Angel Metropolis FC and Los Angeles Golf Membership, expressed her curiosity in proudly owning a WNBA crew, offered the circumstances are proper.
In a current interview with CNN, Williams mentioned her potential enterprise into the WNBA, emphasizing the significance of the proper marketplace for her funding. “I completely would have an interest. With the proper market, I’d undoubtedly be tremendous taken with that,” Williams said, reflecting her enthusiasm for increasing her portfolio into ladies’s basketball.
The timing of Williams’ feedback is notable, coinciding with the 2024 WNBA Draft, an occasion that has generated vital consideration as a result of distinctive skills coming by means of the ranks, similar to Iowa’s standout level guard Caitlin Clark. Clark, anticipated to be the No. 1 choose, exemplifies the kind of expertise that would drive Williams’ curiosity within the league. “We simply wanted the proper catalyst and the proper individuals, and I believe that is been taking place over the previous two years,” Williams remarked, underscoring the momentum constructing in ladies’s sports activities.
Williams’ advocacy for ladies’s sports activities is well-documented, not solely by means of her possession but additionally by means of her funding actions. Serena Ventures, her funding firm, has backed 66 startups, together with 16 “unicorns” – firms valued at over $1 billion. Remarkably, 78 % of those startups have been based by ladies and folks of coloration, showcasing her dedication to range and empowerment by means of entrepreneurship.
Serena considering of shopping for a WNBA crew? This is why she’s all in
The tennis legend additionally highlighted the rising recognition and viewership of ladies’s sports activities, significantly ladies’s faculty basketball, which has just lately seen increased viewership numbers than its male counterpart. “Ladies’s sport is thrilling, ladies are thrilling to look at. Extra individuals watched the ladies’s faculty basketball than the boys. It is a very protected wager on the subject of investing,” she defined.
The assist for Williams’ potential transfer into WNBA possession was echoed by stars like A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, who shared Williams’ feedback with expressive emojis, indicating pleasure and shock. This enthusiasm is shared by different high-profile sports activities figures, together with retired quarterback Tom Brady, who just lately joined the Aces’ possession group.
Because the 2024 WNBA Draft unfolds on the Brooklyn Academy of Music – a sold-out occasion that marks a big second for the league – Williams’ curiosity in WNBA possession provides an additional layer of anticipation and potential for the way forward for ladies’s basketball.
