Serena Williams recalled attempting to cash her first $1 million check winnings at a bank’s drive-through ATM.
The tennis legend’s million-dollar drive-thru mishap may not be too relatable on the cash side, but it is definitely relatable on the embarrassing aspect.
The retired 23-time Grand Slam champion was the latest guest on Hot Ones, where host Sean Evans questioned her about whether the rumor was true.
Serena Williams confirmed the story with a chuckle. She shared that the incident occurred early in her career, following a significant tournament victory.
“Yeah, those are all true,” the mother of two confirmed. “I never played for money; I played ’cause I loved the sport. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to win.”
She continued, “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; 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.”
Williams admitted that she had “never really spent a lot of money” but was “so serious” about having it deposited.
“I got my check, and it was a million dollars,” Serena Williams recalled. “Like, OK, I’m gonna go deposit it. I went through the drive-thru … and the guy was like, ‘Uh, I think you need to come inside for this,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, OK.'”
Serena Williams agreed with Evans and concluded that it was one of many “lessons to learn,” but she has come a long way since then, launching her own venture capital fund, Serena Ventures, in 2017.
Only Serena could make a million-dollar check story so entertaining. She’s definitely the GOAT on and off the court.
