NEW YORK — The Serena Williams Foundation announced a $50 million global initiative on Thursday to bring tennis to 200 underserved communities across 40 countries over the next five years, funded by a combination of Williams's personal wealth, corporate partners including Nike and American Express, and a matching grant from the Open Society Foundations.
The programme, called "First Serve," will install full-size courts or repurpose existing community spaces, fund certified coaching staff, provide free equipment, and offer academic scholarship pathways for participants who reach competitive levels.
"I grew up in Compton at a court that Richard Williams built himself because there was nothing else there," Williams said at the announcement in Harlem. "Every kid deserves a first serve. That is why this programme is called what it is called."
Global Scope
Priority regions include Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and underserved urban communities in the United States and Western Europe. The initiative works with national tennis federations and local NGOs to identify sites, and requires a ten-year maintenance commitment from host municipalities before funding is released.