Photo Courtesy Of Serena Williams/ Instagram
Tennis legend, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and businesswoman Serena Williams’ autographed 2003 rookie card sold for a record-breaking $266.4K at a recent auction.
According to reports, the founder of Goldin Auctions, Ken Goldin, announced the exciting news via Twitter on May 22.
“New record set for highest priced trading card of a female athlete last night @GoldinCo,” Goldin tweeted. “This @serenawilliams 2003 NETPRO signed patch rookie card sold for $266,400, setting the new record.”
The selling price of Williams’ rookie card more than doubled the previous record for a card featuring a woman athlete, which she also held. That record was $117,000 and $96,000, set in January by a July 1999 Sports Illustrated For Kids Serena Williams rookie card and 2003 Netpro Elite Glossy series card, respectively.
Both were reportedly sold through one of sports memorabilia company PWCC’s monthly premiere auctions.
“In addition to PWCC setting the record for the most expensive female athlete card ever, we also set the second highest price on the same night!” the company tweeted on January 25. “Another @serenawilliams card sold for nearly $100K in our January Premier Auction.”
The tennis superstar’s husband, tech businessman Alex Ohanian, took to Twitter to express his excitement for his wife. He also highlighted that despite his wife’s 2003 rookie card being sold for such a whopping amount, he still felt it was “massively undervalued.”
“This is her best card. I’ve got the other PSA 8 AUTO 10 in my @OnlyAltOfficial vault–this was someone else–Still massively undervalued. When I started collecting all @serenawilliams grails four years ago, the Kournikova RCs were more expensive. It was so obvious.”
Sportswear giant Nike recently dedicated their largest building at their headquarters to Williams, called the Serena Williams Building. It reportedly takes up one million square feet–the equivalent of 140 full-size tennis courts.
“The whole building takes your breath away. Every element, everywhere you go, is an opportunity to be inspired. I hope this building encourages people to bring out the best of themselves and to dream bigger than they thought possible,” the history-making athlete said in a Nike press release.