The tennis legend drops by ‘Hot Ones’ where she reveals she was so focused on winning, she would forget to cash her checks until her “tax guy” would ask her if she even got paid
Serena Williams reflects on how winning matches was more important to her than cashing in her earnings — so much so that she once tried cashing a $1 million check at a drive-thru ATM.
The former American tennis player was featured on Thursday’s episode of Hot Ones and opened up about her career and drive with host Sean Evans.
Evans asked the star athlete “Is it true that you rarely collected your winnings your first year on tour and then once tried unsuccessfully to cash your first million dollar check at a drive-thru ATM?”
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Williams, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her career, responded “I never played for money, I played ’cause I love the sport.”
She shared that she would forget about cashing her checks while thinking about ways to get better after every match.
“My tax guy, he would be like, ‘You didn’t get your money?'” Williams continued. “If I didn’t win I was just so angry, I wanted to just figure out a way to get better and win the next time.”
The tennis legend revealed that she “never really spent a lot of money” and decided to go to a bank drive-thru to make the deposit, but was declined due to its high amount. “The guy was like, ‘I think you need to come inside for this.'”
In her notable career, Williams also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three doubles Olympics gold medals alongside her sister Venus Williams.
She also dished on her iconic and fashionable moments in the arena, and her collaboration with renowned fashion designer Virgil Abloh. The athlete notably marked her style in the sport, which traditionally had players in clean-cut white attire. One of her looks in the arena include a black tutu dress by Abloh and Nike for the US Open.
In the Arena: Serena Williams, an ESPN+ mini-series airing this Wednesday, will chronicle her legendary career and cover her triumphant wins and some of her losses.
