Serena Williams has joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA announced Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The Tempo begins play in the 2026 season as the league's 14th franchise and its first outside the United States.
The move places Williams alongside Canadian billionaire Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Sports Ventures, which secured the franchise last May for a reported $115 million—the highest WNBA expansion fee to date, more than double the $50 million Golden State paid in 2023. Tanenbaum also controls Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, which operates the Raptors, Maple Leafs, and Scotiabank Arena, where the Tempo will play 19 home dates starting spring 2026.
Williams' entry continues a pattern. She holds stakes in Angel City FC (NWSL), the Miami Dolphins, and has maintained a venture portfolio through Serena Ventures that includes early checks into Coinbase and Impossible Foods. The Toronto position is her first WNBA commitment. The league does not publish minority stake percentages, but expansion groups typically reserve 5-10% parcels for celebrity co-investors who bring sponsorship inroads and media leverage without operating control. Williams' Instagram reach sits north of 17 million; her Canada ties run through Tennis Canada partnerships and Rogers Cup appearances in Toronto and Montreal spanning two decades.
The timing matters. The WNBA is packaging its next media rights deal, expected to close before the 2025 season and likely to exceed $200 million annually—roughly triple the current ESPN/CBS arrangement. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said 16 teams is the target by 2028. Toronto's entry, alongside Golden State's 2025 debut and Portland's return in 2026, pushes the league into markets with established venue infrastructure and corporate sponsor bases. Scotiabank Arena seats 17,800 for basketball; early ticketing surveys showed demand in the 8,000-10,000 range for opening night, per sources familiar with the data.
Canadian expansion also unlocks cross-border sponsorship inventory. Tanenbaum's MLSE portfolio already counts RBC, Tangerine, and Molson as jersey and arena partners. WNBA jersey patches currently average $1.5 million per season; Toronto is expected to command a premium given its corporate base and the novelty of being the league's only international market. Williams' involvement gives the franchise a brand ambassador who can pull double duty in U.S. and Canadian media buys. Her deal with Nike, extended through 2028, includes co-branding rights that could surface in Toronto kit collaborations if the franchise opts for a third jersey.
The Tempo hired Teresa Resch as president in November. Resch previously ran Canada Basketball and spent eight years at MLSE in corporate partnerships. Her first hires will be a head coach and a VP of basketball operations, expected by late February. The franchise holds the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft under expansion selection rules but will also participate in the 2025 expansion draft alongside Golden State and Portland, claiming one player from each existing roster. That process happens in December 2025, giving the front office 18 months to build a scouting infrastructure.
Watch for kit and primary jersey sponsor announcements by mid-2025. The franchise needs a head coach before the 2025 WNBA season ends to begin informal recruiting. And Williams' next public appearance in Toronto—whether courtside at a Raptors game or at a corporate sponsor event—will signal how hands-on her involvement runs. Tanenbaum's other celebrity co-investors in MLSE ventures typically show up 3-4 times per season. Williams has yet to comment publicly beyond the team's statement.
The WNBA has never had an ownership group fail. Toronto is betting that a $115 million entry fee, backed by arena control and a celebrity board, pencils at current projections. If the next media deal lands where league officials expect, the math works. If it undershoots, the Tempo becomes an expensive proof-of-concept for international expansion the league cannot yet afford to replicate.
The takeaway
Williams' stake ties celebrity capital to the WNBA's priciest expansion bet, testing cross-border economics before the next media deal closes.
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