Tennis legend Serena Williams admitted that she attempted to cash her first $1 million check at a drive-thru ATM.
Hot Ones host Sean Evans inquired whether the story about Williams attempting to cash her first $1 million winnings at a drive-thru ATM was true.
“I never played for money,” Williams told Evans on the episode, which dropped July 4th.
Serena went on to describe what motivated her to dominate women’s tennis for over two decades.
“I played ’cause I loved the sport. I don’t even know if I wanted to play to be the best, I wanted to win,” she admitted.
She recalled not even keeping up with the earnings from her winnings.
“So my tax guy, he would be like, ‘You didn’t get your money?’ and I’d be like, ‘Oh, I didn’t get that one in Zurich,’ ‘Oh, I forgot that one in Moscow.””
“I was just playing to win, and if I didn’t win, I wasn’t thinking. I was just so angry, that I wanted to find a way to get better and win the next time.”
Serena Williams Recalls Bank Clerk’s Reaction to Her $1 Million ATM Cash Out Attempt
Williams recounted that she “never really spent a lot of money.” However, she decided to cash her first significant check at a local bank’s drive-thru.
“I got my check and it was a million dollars. Like, OK, I’m gonna go deposit it,” she recalled. “I went through the drive-thru. The guy was like, ‘Uh, I think you need to come inside for this,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’”
Of course, Hot Ones fans loved the tennis champ’s attitude towards her profession and her candid honesty during the interview.
“You know you LOVE your job when the whole “getting paid” thing is an afterthought. She’s such an icon,” one fan wrote in the comments under the YouTube video.
“There is something endearing about a person just being who they are and not trying to be fake,” a second fan added. “What a genuinely real person. Ended up being in my top 10 just because she was so down to earth and honest,” another fan agreed.
Ultimately, much to her chagrin, Serena had to throw in the towel before the final hot sauce.