Serena Williams may be known for her domination on court—the tennis champion has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and four Olympic gold medals—but it’s her eye for style that informs some of her other pursuits. She has, for instance, her own eponymous jewelry line, in addition to her “S by Serena” clothing collection, which features a mix of athleisure and ready-to-wear items. It should come as no surprise, then, that Williams has thoughtfully refined her design aesthetic over the years, in close partnership with older sister Venus Williams, who—in addition to being a tennis icon in her own right—also helms a design firm called V Starr.
When Serena needed help bringing her vision for her current Miami dream home to life, she acknowledged that having a design expert in the family simplified the process. “I was moving away from Venus for the first time in my life, so I wanted it to be really meaningful,” Serena told Architectural Digest in a February 2021 interview. “You have to know your lane. I’m really good at playing tennis; I’m not as good at interiors. But I was able to learn through just watching Venus.”
Over the course of three years, the duo collaborated on the total renovation of the 14,500-square-foot Spanish Mediterranean–style home that Serena purchased in 2017. One space with particular significance is the former foyer, which has since been transformed into a creative art sanctuary of sorts. “When you walk in, it’s like walking into an art gallery,” Serena said. “That’s my favorite part of the house. It’s so unique. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Ahead, AD tallies up the different properties Serena has added to her real estate portfolio.
1998
At the beginning of their storied careers, Serena and Venus purchased the one-acre lot in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for $525,000. They went on to spend two years custom-building the 8,500-square-foot house that featured six bedrooms, including a main suite for each sister, as well as multiple lounge areas, a home theater, an eat-in kitchen, and a resort-style backyard complete with pool, spa, gazebo, and private lake. They sold off the property in early 2019 for $2.3 million.
2006
Originally purchased for a little over $6.6 million, Serena’s 2.7-acre Bel-Air estate spanned approximately 6,100 square feet, featuring six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and lush green gardens. While there was no tennis court, the property did come equipped with a hair and makeup salon, a dressing room in the main suite, and a poolside loggia. In 2019, she sold the home for $8.1 million after originally listing it for nearly $12 million.
2007
When playing the French Open is a part of your job, it helps to have a Paris outpost to call home. In 2007, Serena closed on a two-bedroom pied-à-terre in the French capital’s 7th arrondissement. “I really fell in love with Paris six years ago,” Serena told USA Today in 2013. Though it’s unclear how much she paid for her Paris apartment, she gave fans a quick tour of the home in 2016, calling out the neutral palette of gray floors and black doors and the renovation work she completed elsewhere: “I redid the whole kitchen to make a fun space,” she said. “This is the office, which is perpendicular to the kitchen, which is pretty cool.”
2015
The Sunshine State seems to have a strong appeal for Serena. In May 2015, she purchased another Palm Beach Gardens property for $2.5 million. Located within a gated community, the Georgian-style mansion spans more than 5,600 square feet and is backed by a lush backyard that features a large swimming pool and spa and leads out to a canal. Serena reportedly sold off the home for $2.775 million at the end of 2020.
2017
Serena Williams turned this home from Spanish Mediterranean to super modern with help from Venus Williams.
Just north of Miami, Serena found what would become one of her main residences and a true years-long labor of love. Although the purchase price is unknown, she bought the property sometime in 2017 and spent three years renovating it in close collaboration with her sister Venus’s design firm, V Starr. The 14,500-square-foot Spanish Mediterranean–style mansion was transformed into a modern dwelling with its own gym, sauna, wine cellar, infinity pool, karaoke room, and a 620-square-foot closet. Her daughter Olympia’s room features a pink custom-designed castle bed complete with a built-in slide and a one-of-a-kind chandelier created by blown-glass artist Josh Fradis. “She goes down the slide every night, while we’re thinking, man, we shouldn’t have done that, because now at bedtime, she just wants to slide,” Serena told AD. “But whatever makes her happy makes me happy.”
Also in 2017, Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, purchased a Beverly Hills home together, adding a five-bedroom, seven-bathroom Spanish-style property to their real estate portfolio. At a price tag of $6.7 million, it features an open floor plan, a spacious main bedroom with its own fireplace, and folding glass doors leading to a private bathroom. The amenities are plentiful here, including a game room, massage room, yoga room, and wine cellar.
2020
South Florida continues to be a hot spot for the athlete, who was identified as the previously unknown buyer of a waterfront estate in Jupiter that used to be owned by St. Louis Cardinals baseball player Yadier Molina. Spanning 10,433 square feet, Serena reportedly purchased the property under an LLC for $8 million in September 2020. It features eight bedrooms and seven and a half bathrooms, all sitting on more than four acres of land. A swimming pool, guesthouse, combined tennis and basketball court, baseball diamond—plus almost 300 feet of riverfront—round out the expansive property. But according to a notice filed in October 2020, plans to demolish the house are in the works.
