Serena Williams joins takeover bid to buy Chelsea football club

TC LIVE FLASHBACK: On Serena and her accomplishments

Raise your hand if you had Serena Williams on your bingo card to jump into the bidding war to purchase the Chelsea Football Club.

The 23-time major singles champion is reportedly joining a bid led by Sir Martin Broughton to take over the Premier League team previously owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Fellow global superstar Lewis Hamilton of Formula 1 is also taking up the potential opportunity to get a piece of the club.

Both Williams and Hamilton are committing around £10m apiece, according to multiple reports.

When she’s not playing tennis, Williams spends much of her time as an avid investor—and her past interests have crossed over to professional sports franchises. With sister Venus, she's held a minority ownership stake in the Miami Dolphins since 2009.

Williams is also part of a powerful ownership group behind Angel City Football Club, a National Women’s Soccer League team in Los Angeles that debuted earlier this year. Husband Alexis Ohanian is among the investors involved with that venture.

Her strong connection to London itself is no secret. At Wimbledon, Williams has won a combined 14 titles (seven singles, six women’s doubles, one mixed doubles) and she swept the singles and women’s doubles gold medals at the 2012 Olympics. London Fashion Week attendance has also been among her off-court activities.

In a statement on March 2, Abramovich wrote, “I have always taken decisions with the club’s best interest at heart. In the current situation, I have therefore taken the decision to sell the club, as I believe this is in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club’s sponsors and partners.”

Eight days later, the 55-year-old was stripped of his control after being sanctioned by the UK government, a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His assets in the country, including Chelsea, were subsequently frozen.