Serena Williams becomes co-owner of WNBA expansion team Toronto Tempo

Serena Williams is expanding her portfolio of professional sports organizations to include a WNBA team.

The tennis legend was announced Monday as a co-owner the Toronto Tempo, an expansion team that is set to start play in 2026. Williams is joining an ownership group that is headed by Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures.

“I am thrilled to announce my ownership role in the first Canadian WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo,” Williams said in a statement. “This moment is not just about basketball; it is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes — I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity. I am excited to partner with Larry and all of Canada in creating this new WNBA franchise and legacy.”

According to a news release by the team, Williams’ role as an owner will include playing “an active role in future jersey designs” and helping to “forge unique merchandise collaborations with the team.”

Her inclusion in the Tempo ownership is pending final league approval.

“Serena Williams is an icon, a role model and a force for change in the world” Tanenbaum said in a statement. “She’s earned every bit of her incredible success with hard work, tenacity and determination in the face of countless challenges. She exemplifies the very best of what the Tempo stand for — we couldn’t be more honoured to have Serena in our court.”

Williams won 23 major singles titles before playing her last professional tennis match at the 2022 U.S. Open. A successful business person, Williams owns a minority stake in several teams across a variety of sports, including football (the NFL’s Miami Dolphins), soccer (the NWSL’s Angel City FC) and golf (TGL’s Los Angeles Golf Club).

“Serena is a champion,” Tempo president Teresa Resch said in a statement. “She’s the greatest athlete of all time, and her impact on this team and this country is going to be incredible. She’s set the bar for women in sport, business and the world — and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring.”

Things could get a little awkward for Williams if she happens to run into hip-hop star Drake in his hometown of Toronto. Williams was seen onstage during the Super Bowl halftime show last month dancing gleefully to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” a brutal Drake diss track that won Grammys for record and song of the year.

Williams has implied that her appearance during the song had nothing to do with Drake, with whom she had been rumored to have been romantically linked during the early 2010s.