Tennis legend Serena Williams announced her planned retirement earlier this year. With a loss in the 2022 U.S. Open, Williams will now walk away from the sport as one of the greatest of all time to ever play the game.
What Happened: Williams and sister Venus Williams dominated the sport of tennis over the last 25 years.
Serena Williams ends with an 856-155 record for singles tennis, winning around 85% of her career matches. Williams has 73 singles titles, 23 double titles, 23 Grand Slam titles for singles and 14 Grand Slam titles for doubles.
Dominant from a young age, Serena Williams saw her career really take off after winning the 1999 U.S. Open singles title, her first Grand Slam title. In the tournament, Williams beat four Grand Slam champions in a row to win the title, beating the number one ranked Martina Hingis in the finals. Serena also won the doubles title at the same tournament with sister Venus.
Serena was the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles tournament since 1958.
“It was truly the tournament that started it all, and the beginning of her legendary dominance,” ESPN wrote of the 1999 U.S. Open.
For years, Serena was endorsed by Puma and her sister was endorsed by Reebok. As some will recall from the Academy Award-winning film “King Richard,” the Williams family turned down a deal from Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) for Venus before she was set to take part in a tournament.
Years later, Nike landed Serena Williams with a $40 million, five-year deal. The deal came with a three-year extension and has seen Serena endorsed by Nike ever since. The Nike deal came with performance bonuses for wins and reaching the number one ranking, which likely made it a big win for Williams.
She spent 319 weeks ranked number one for women’s tennis in the world, including 186 consecutive weeks from 2013 to 2016.
Nike has benefitted from Williams' status in tennis and the use of prominent logos and branding on her outfits. She has also starred in commercials and been used in brand advertisements.
Nike named a building after Williams earlier this year and dedicated it to her.
Sometimes all it takes to change the world is just being you. Thank you, Serena, for changing the game for so many. @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/SQ2KqRLsxx
— Nike (@Nike) September 3, 2022
Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Serena Williams
Investing $1,000 in Nike: The year 2003 turned out to be a huge win for Nike in terms of endorsement deals signed. The apparel and footwear company also signed NBA superstars LeBron James and Kobe Bryant to deals in the same year.
The deal with Serena was announced on Dec. 11, 2003 after market close.
Investors who saw the news as a win and way to provide future value to Nike shares could have bought shares off the news.
Investing $1,000 in Nike stock at open Dec. 12, 2003 could have purchased 15.45 shares. Nike shares had several stock splits since that purchase, with two-for-one splits in 2007, 2012, and 2015. The splits would have turned the 15.45 shares into 123.60 shares.
The $1,000 investment would be worth $12,963.17 today, based on a price of $104.88 for Nike shares at the time of writing. This represents a return of 1,196.3% over the last 19 years, making it a Grand Slam win for investors along the way.
Photo: Courtesy of mirsasha on flickr
