Behind the trophies, the millions, Serena Williams reveals a painful truth few fans ever see. Her greatest victories didn’t come without devastating sacrifices—missed moments, lonely nights, and time stolen from her children. Was becoming the greatest of all time worth the price she paid at home?

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?

You see, ever since her retirement (or even before that), Williams has never been one to rest. Despite coming out of a tennis career with a staggering $95 million in prize money, the veteran has steadily grown her brand with an intent of giving back. In 2014, she founded Serena Ventures—a VC fund that currently represents 79% of under-represented founders, 54% women founders, 47% Black founders, and 11% Latino founders. In December 2022, the 43-year-old also made use of her creative freedom by launching WillPerform, a brand that deals with muscle care and pain management. Then in April next year, Williams launched her own multimedia company Nine Two Six Productions, “to elevate female and diverse voices through content that speaks to everyone.”

And then, amid this hectic schedule and between birthing two children with husband Alexis Ohanian, she also launched her first children’s book, The Adventures of Qai Qai in 2022. But, don’t worry, there’s more. Williams is also a minority owner in the WNBA’s Toronto Tempo, the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC, and Tomorrow’s Golf League’s (founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Mike McCarley) Los Angeles Golf Club. What’s more? In 2009, the Williams sisters made NFL history after becoming minority owners in the Miami Dolphins, as the first Black women to own an NFL franchise. AND THEN, to top it all off: The multihyphenated tennis star dipped her toes into the beauty market with Wyn Beauty last year—a vegan, cruelty-free, and dermatologically tested brand created for people with active lifestyles. Notably, on April 2, the brand celebrated its first anniversary. While the revenue specifics of the brand have not been made public yet, the mother of two agrees that her success has come at a cost…

As the 23 Grand Slam winner went all out while promoting the brand, hosting a Shopify pop-up event in Los Angeles on April 11, she also sat down with People Magazine. An interviewer asked, “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.” The mother, who once proclaimed that she was “obsessed” with her daughters, Olympia and Adira, has to face the harsh reality that she needs to be apart from them occasionally.

But it isn’t just post-retirement that Serena has endured this. It has been the case for her forever. “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.”