Serena Williams still one of the highest paid athletes in the world despite retirement with Nike deal bringing in big money still
WTA
WTA legend Serena Williams may have hung up her racket, but the American is still racking in the millions as she remains close to the top of the list among the highest paid athletes in the world today.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion retired at the 2022 US Open, ending an illustrious career that spanned over 20 years. However, she remains actively involved in other business endeavors, including several endorsements and her own fashion line and other start-up investments.
Deal with Nike catapulted Williams into financial freedom
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As Williams stardom reached new heights at the early stages of her career, the American signed a deal with sporting giants Nike in 2003. The initial deal was worth a then-record $60 million spread over 6 years, along with various incentives. Due to her unparalleled success on the court, it was only a matter of time before she renegotiated a new deal. In 2016, she became the highest paid female athlete with an annual salary of $29 million.
However, Williams topped this mark when she collaborated with Nike to launch the Serena Williams Design Crew (SWDC), an apprenticeship program that helped less privileged children. Along with the SWDC deal and her fashion brand, Williams continued to rake in the profits even after retirement. The former World No.1 was ranked 49th on the world's highest paid athletes list by Forbes in 2023, she in fact currently has a net worth of $250 million.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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