Serena Williams breaks down the ‘very expensive’ cost of success

Serena Williams, WYN beauty, Black beauty brand, theGrio.com
Serena Williams watches Novak Djokovic of Serbia play Lorenzo Musetti of Italy during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Serena Williams celebrates the one-year anniversary of her beauty brand, WYN Beauty, during a pop-up events in Los Angeles. 

Serena Williams has gone from dominating tennis courts around the world to commanding runways for some of the biggest fashion houses, running her own venture capital firm, launching her beauty brand, and much more. However, it costs a lot to get to the heights that Williams has reached.

During a special two-day pop-up event celebrating the one-year anniversary of her beauty brand, WYN, that kicked off on Friday, April 11, in Los Angeles at The Lighthouse, the 43-year-old tennis pro turned beauty exec opened up about just how much her success costs. Spoiler alert: it’s “a lot.”

“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?’” Williams told People magazine. “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.”

Williams, who shares two daughters, Alexis Olympia, 7, and Adira River, 1, with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, noted that she had to pay some of this “cost” to even attend her beauty brand’s event.

“I’m here without my kids, and that’s a big cost for me because I spend a lot of time with my children,” she said. “So, it’s always some cost.”

The 23-time Grand Slam champion’s brand launched in April 2024 in collaboration with Shopify. It offers clean beauty products centered around movement in tennis ball yellow packaging. The brand features a full range of products, including skin tint with SPF, creamy concealer, lipgloss, a versatile liquid blush that can also be applied to the lips, and more.

“People told us not to lean too far into ‘active’ and questioned whether or not the beauty industry would get behind a brand inspired by movement,” Williams told WWD ahead of the popup. “We’ve stayed true to our original vision and have created a brand dedicated to empowering people no matter where they are in their personal journeys.”

The anniversary pop-up which featured many of the brand’s products on display, included interactive events like a shade-matching station where attendees could try one of the brand’s 36 shades of skin tint, games, a tennis-themed photo booth, and more.

As Williams continues to thrive as a multi-hyphenate, she told People she was officially “done” starting new ventures.

“I’m not launching anything else like this,” she declared. “I just am happy doing WYN Beauty. And I’m happy being a mom, and I’m happy with my venture company, and that’s a lot. We’re good!”

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