Serena Williams' rookie card sells for $117,000, becomes most expensive women's sports card of all time

Serena Williams added another record to her resume as a 1999 rookie card featuring the 23-time Grand Slam champion sold for $117,000, becoming the most expensive women's sports card of all time.

The Sports Illustrated for Kids Series 4 card from over two decades back was sold on PWCC Marketplace, an online platform for buying and selling trading cards, at their monthly premier auction. The buyer's identity has yet to be revealed.

The previous record for a women's sports card was also held by Williams, when her autographed 2003 rookie card sold for $44,280 on Goldin Auctions. The record was set in October 2021, eclipsing the $34,440 spent on American footballer Mia Hamm's card from 1992.

Interestingly, another of the former World No. 1's cards, a 2003 Netpro Elite Glossy rookie card, was sold on Tuesday for $96,000. This means the 40-year-old now has the three most expensive women's sports cards to her name.

Chris Callahan, the Director of Marketing at PWCC marketplace, remarked that the most recent sale was concrete proof of the fact that Williams is the GOAT.

"We're extremely excited to see both the $117,000 and $96,000 sales for Serena Williams' cards as it reaffirms what many of us already knew: that she is the greatest of all time," Callahan said. "Through 2021, we saw a few records set for women’s cards, but this sale is definitely a major step up as it more than doubles the previous record."

Serena Williams' husband considers one of her rookie cards his "favorite grail"

Serena Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an avid collector of sports cards himself

The buyer who bought Serena Williams' most expensive card has remained anonymous, but social media is rife with speculation that it could be her husband, Alexis Ohanian.

Ohanian has made no secret of the fact he is an avid collector of sports cards. In fact, the Reddit co-founder revealed on Twitter last year that he owns the 2003 Netpro Rookie card of Serena Williams, the same card that fetched $96,000 recently.

He considered the card, which is one of only 100 produced, his "favorite grail", kept securely in their trophy room.

"Y'all geeked out over the trophy room in our home, but Serena didn't show you MY favorite grail in here," he tweeted. "It's from a 1 of 100 set of her rookie card."

Williams has not been seen in action since August 2021, when she injured her hamstring at Wimbledon. She was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open this month, prolonging her wait for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title.