Serena Williams has struck a two-book deal with the Random House Publishing Group, the Associated Press reports.
The athlete, considered by many to be one of the best tennis players in history, will write a memoir and an inspirational work for the publisher. The books will be her first for adult readers since 2009.
Williams and her sister Venus Williams became worldwide tennis stars in the early 2000s. Serena Williams would go on to win 23 Grand Slam women’s singles titles, including seven at Wimbledon and six at the U.S. Open. The Women’s Tennis Association ranked her No. 1 in the world for 319 weeks.
In her memoir, Random House tells the AP, Williams will discuss “overcoming scrutiny and attacks in a predominantly white and male-dominated sport, navigating devastating losses on and off the court, falling in love with tech entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, celebrating body diversity and expanding the confines of style in sports and pop culture, bringing awareness to maternal health disparities, and being a devoted mother to her daughters, Olympia and Adira.”
Her second book will be “inspirational,” Random House says, offering “rules for living that draw on her experiences as a philanthropist and advocate, her career as an investment unicorn with Serena Ventures, and someone who has long sought to lift a diverse and emergent generation of young women whose aspirations are not confined to the court.”
Williams is the author of a previous memoir, On the Line, and a children’s picture book, The Adventures of Qai Qai, illustrated by Yesenia Moises.
Her forthcoming books are as yet untitled and do not have release dates.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
