Tennis legend Serena Williams joins WNBA expansion team Toronto Tempo as part owner
Serena Williams, who won 23 major championships over a 27-year tennis career, is joining Toronto Tempo ownership, the WNBA team announced on Monday.
"This moment is not just about basketball. It is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes. I have always said that women's sports are an incredible investment opportunity," Williams said in a statement released by the expansion team.
Williams joins Larry Tanenbaum, the chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures, as owners.
Tanenbaum was previously a 25 per cent owner of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment but has since sold some of his shares in the company that owns the NHL's Maple Leafs, NBA's Raptors, CFL's Argos and MLS FC.
"I am excited to partner with Larry and all of Canada in creating this new WNBA franchise and legacy," Williams said.
Williams "will contribute to bringing the Tempo to life visually," the team said, including input on jersey design and merchandise partnerships.
The 43-year-old made her professional tennis debut in Canada in 1995 en route to her record-setting career. She won the WTA's Canadian Open, which was previously known as the Rogers Cup, three times and appeared in two other finals.
Williams is also a founding owner of the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC and she holds minority stakes in the NFL's Miami Dolphins as well as TGL's Los Angeles Golf Club, the virtual golf league headed by PGA stars Tiger Williams and Rory McIlroy.
She was recently spotted next to Tanenbaum at a TGL match in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Now, she'll return north of the border to help usher in the lone WNBA team located outside of the United States.
"Serena is a champion," said Tempo president Teresa Resch. "She's the greatest athlete of all time, and her impact on this team and this country is going to be incredible. She's set the bar for women in sport, business and the world — and her commitment to using that success to create opportunities for other women is inspiring."
WATCH | Wright Rogers talks goals for 2026 season:
Meet Monica Wright Rogers, the GM of the WNBA's newest team, the Toronto Tempo
4 days ago
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Tanenbaum said the team "couldn't be more honoured" to welcome Williams.
"Serena Williams is an icon, a role model and a force for change in the world. She's earned every bit of her incredible success with hard work, tenacity and determination in the face of countless challenges. She exemplifies the very best of what the Tempo stand for," he said.
Williams' ownership stake is still pending final league approval, the Tempo said.
The Tempo will begin play out of Coca-Cola Coliseum in the 2026 season, with some home games expecrted to be played in Montreal and Vancouver.
The team recently named three-time WNBA champion Monica Wright Rogers as its general manager and hopes to have a head coach in place in time for the expansion draft, which could take place in the fall.
At her introductory press conference, Wright Rogers spoke about the historically great free-agent class set to hit the market next off-season.
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Lately, Boucher and his videographer and another friend have been working on a series of longer-form videos for YouTube, inspired by the constant requests he gets from guys to recommend places for them to go on trips with their buddies. Rob LeClair, an executive with Staples Canada who was finishing up a round at the Pro Am with Ryo Hisatsune, approached Boucher for a selfie. 'I watch his YouTube, I watch his Instagram videos, I watch all of it. It's so fun,' he said. But Boucher's appeal runs deeper than that, LeClair explained. 'The way he thinks and sees things that other people don't, like: 'I can hit it through those trees.' And then he swings it around 100 yards! It's just mind-blowing to see.' 'He has a different approach to being successful. If you relate that to real life – you don't have to hit it straight down the middle, you can hit anything and still be successful.' A little while later, Boucher's caddie opened an app to demonstrate that philosophy in concrete terms. On the fourth hole, a 158-yard par 3, the pro in the group, Patrick Fishburn, had shot an elegant draw off the tee that curved 18 feet left to right. Boucher's drive off the same tee went 197 feet left to right – and ended up in almost the same spot. 'For me, it's understanding what my body's capable of,' Boucher explained, back at the media tent. 'It's just cause and effect,' and knowing how to incorporate his natural tendency to shoot sling shots. 'I think most people could probably benefit from that, instead of trying to be something they're not on the golf course.' Though he doesn't play a traditional style of golf, Boucher insists he's a traditionalist 'in the sense that I'm very much a golf nerd. I love to learn things, and the numbers – I geek out about that type of stuff, which is what allows me to hit the shots I'm hitting. Taylor Pendrith rises above soggy morning course at RBC Canadian Open 'I do appreciate that the new generation is YouTube golf and that's what's getting eyes on golf, but I still think the PGA Tour is what I am interested in.' Even so, he acknowledges that golf as it is being played on the tour is too slow. 'Who has the attention span – not to mention the time – to sit on a couch and watch a six-hour round of golf,' he said. 'Unless it's the Masters and it's happening one time a year and you just don't want it to end? 'I'm someone who loves going out at 7 p.m. with a buddy and ripping around in an hour and a half, 18 holes.' He'd tried to qualify for this year's Canadian Open but he's been dealing with an injured right thumb which, he said, he's 'torn all the tendons on – there's nothing really holding any more.' Opinion: Love them or loathe them, sports media keep athletes like Rory McIlroy relevant If he has surgery to repair it, he'll be out for 10 months: Not really an option at the moment, given his commitments and the need to build up his content on YouTube. And since blowing up on Instagram, he's had to steel himself against the inevitable haters. 'It's arguably more pressure now to play tournaments, because there are all these people that are just watching and waiting to pounce on you if you don't play well,' he said. By the time the Open draws to a close on Sunday, Boucher will be gone, off to P.E.I. for a couple of appearances. Earlier this year, he was back and forth between North America and Australia and New Zealand three times in two weeks. It's a lot, he acknowledges. 'I'd like to kind of settle down and not have the consistent suitcase life,' he said. 'I've created a decent-sized brand for myself where I can say no, which is nice.' Still, he admits, 'I don't really think much in the future. It's the way I've always been. I probably should, but it's worked this far.'
