Serena Williams Discusses the Cost of Stardom

Serena Williams’ personal life had to pay a “high price” for her career.

The 43-year-old’s tennis career has taken her to the top of the globe, where she has won 23 grand slam titles and is the top-ranked women’s singles player. She has also become a successful businesswoman with her WYN Beauty makeup line.

Behind closed doors, though, the celebrity, who has two daughters with her husband Alexis Ohanian, Alexis, age seven, and Adira, age eighteen months, has been weighing the advantages and disadvantages of how her career choices may affect her relationships and family for her “whole life.”

At her WYN Beauty x Shopify pop-up event in Los Angeles on April 11, Serena, a Florida resident, told PEOPLE: “Yeah, it definitely costs a lot.” Since I spend a lot of time with my kids and they are very attached to me, which I adore, it is very costly for me to be here [in California] without them. Therefore, there is always a cost.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist has stated that her career choices have been “very expensive” and that it has taken her a long time to determine whether they are ultimately “worth it.”

“I’ve had to kind of weigh, like, ‘If I wanna win a championship, well, what is that going to cost me?'” she continued.

The time I spend with my family, friends, and relationships will all be negatively impacted. 

And they cost a lot of money. You must determine whether it is worthwhile for you.

Serena has already acknowledged that she only really cared about winning and never gave any thought to the financial aspects of becoming a tennis great.

When asked about receiving her first $1 million paycheck in a 2024 edition of “Hot Ones,” Serena responded, “I never really spent a lot of money.” 

“I used the drive-through. I said, “Oh, okay,” when the man said, “I think you need to come inside for this.”

“I never performed for cash. I participated because I adored the sport. I wanted to win; I’m not even sure if I wanted to play to be the best.

“My tax guy would ask, ‘You didn’t get your money?’ and I would respond, ‘Oh, I forgot that one in Moscow, and I didn’t get that one in Zurich.'” I was only playing to win, and if I lost, I wasn’t thinking about it; instead, I was so furious that I wanted to figure out how to improve so I could win the next time.