‘Going to Cost Me Time With My Family’- Serena Williams Gets Candid on the Cost of Becoming a Professional Athlete

The tennis tour is a relentless test of strength, grit, and heart—something Serena Williams knows all too well. “You can have a family, you can have a career, you can have both. And you should never feel like you have to choose,” she said back in 2018. From practicing on cracked public courts in Compton to facing hostile crowds, personal hardships, and now a demanding career post-retirement, Serena’s journey has been anything but easy. Yet, with a serve that once blasted 128.6 mph and a baseline game that dominated for decades, she carved out a legendary career, winning 23 Grand Slams and 73 titles. But at what price?

By the time her older daughter Olympia was nearly a five-year-old, Serena had already made significant inroads in the fashion industry, financial investing, as well as a part-owner of the Miami Dolphins and NWSL Angel City. Serena was just a month away from her 41st birthday, and the September edition of Vogue magazine dropped an essay. It was just a day before her second-round match in a tournament in Toronto that was primarily a warmup to the 2022 U.S. Open.

“I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud,” she said. “It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat and I start to cry.”
Serena hated the idea of retirement, but she knew the countdown had begun. She was ready. Ready to “move on.”

For one, Olympia was overheard talking to an app. When it asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, Olympia replied, ‘A big sister.’ Meanwhile, Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian were trying to conceive for a year, and unlike her first childbirth, Serena was a stickler for a condition: “I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.” Serena retired the same month. Four years on, with a whole host of businesses to take care of, you’d think the struggle of balancing the personal and professional wouldn’t exist. But it does.

As she went all out while promoting the brand, hosting a Shopify pop-up event in Los Angeles on Friday, she was asked by People Magazine interviewer, “You’re a boss. What does it cost you, and has it been worth it? 

“Yeah, it definitely costs a lot,” Serena explained. “I’m here [in California] without my kids, and that’s a big cost for me because I spend a lot of time with my children, and they’re very attached to me, which a part of me loves. So, it’s always some cost.

“My whole life I’ve had to kind of weigh, like, ‘If I wanna win a championship, well what is that going to cost me?’” She said. “It’s going to cost me time with my family, it’s going to cost me friends, it’s going to cost me relationships. And they’re very expensive. You have to decide if it’s worth it for you. So I definitely agree with that statement.”

Notably, the player-turned-business woman has often described motherhood as both her biggest achievement and greatest challenge. She welcomed her first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in 2017 with Ohanian. While motherhood added a different dimension to her life, balancing her career and family wasn’t easy. Speaking to Vogue in September 2022, Serena had revealed the unfair choice she faced between being a professional athlete and a mother for the first time. “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she said. “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.”

Yet, despite the challenges, Serena embraced her journey wholeheartedly, adding, “I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia… although things got super complicated on the other side.” The tennis tour remains hectic and demanding even today. The Japanese ace Naomi Osaka has often shared the emotional challenges of balancing her tennis career with motherhood. During the Australian Open in January 2025, she had revealed how difficult it is to be away from her daughter, Shai, while competing. “It is really difficult for me… because I find now my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter,” Osaka said after her first-round victory. She described the sentimental value of keepsakes tied to her family life.

Once, the tennis legend even admitted to facing “mom guilt when I’m doing something on my own” in an interview with Insider back in 2022.

Whether it’s creating fun activities with Adira, teaching her the iconic chant ‘Come On,’ or including Olympia in a fun cooking activity to make the traditional dish gumbo, Serena is a pretty hands-on mother. But there are moments when the WTA legend still feels lonely.

Serena Williams on her loneliest moments in her own home

While she might dazzle at star-studded events like the Oscars, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s elite, her true happiness lies in the simple joy of being close to her girls. Yet, even the devoted mama has moments of loneliness. On March 4, Serena shared an emotional confession on X: “I miss them so much when they sleep. That’s when I get really lonely. #mygirls.”

Last month, Serena found ways to combine family and business. Collaborating with Janie and Jack, she launched a children’s wear collection alongside Olympia and Adira. On March 12, she shared behind-the-scenes moments from the photoshoot on Instagram. Dressed in matching pink outfits, Serena and her girls looked radiant as they celebrated this special project together.

She captioned the post: “Anything I do with my girls brings me joy, but creating this collection with them and @janieandjack has been a dream come true.” When describing the collection, Serena said, “If I could describe this collection in one word, I think I would say ‘joy.’ It’s very joyful, and that’s what I want to create.”

It’s clear that Serena Williams is more than just a tennis icon—she’s a super mama who never misses a chance to show her love for her daughters. Whether it’s through heartfelt confessions or creative collaborations, Serena proves that family comes first. Isn’t she just the ultimate role model?