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Serena Williams: Oregon Pub That Caused Beautiful Chaos During Her Heart-Breaking Retirement Gets Alexis Ohanian’s Backing

Published 04/30/2024, 2:55 PM EDT

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The 2022 US Open still resonates in the minds of every tennis fan, let alone the American fans. One of the sport’s greatest players, Serena Williams, played her last match there, ending her glorious career that spanned over two decades. As it was the final time that Williams was playing, viewership records hit the roof during that tournament. One of the firms that benefitted massively from that event was The Sports Bra, a sports bar with a twist.

A one-of-its-kind pub where fans can enjoy drinks and watch just women’s sports, people thronged this place which had just opened its doors. As the venture announced big plans for the future, one of the persons supporting it is none other than Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian.

Serena Williams’ husband backs expansion plans of The Sports Bra

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The Sports Bra is one of the places where women’s sports are celebrated. With the massive rise in popularity due to players like Serena Williams in the last few decades, and Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese more recently, this sports bar has set its eyes on expansion plans to different cities in the United States. It plans to go nationwide through a franchise model, and it will receive funding from a foundation created by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian for this cause.

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The founder and CEO of The Sports Bra, Jenny Nguyen, acknowledged the rise in popularity of women’s sports which sparked an interest in nationwide expansion. She said, “Things have happened at light speed compared to what my forecast was. This tiny spot that I built for my friends and I to watch games and give female athletes their flowers means so much more. And not just to me, but to a lot of people.”

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It is no secret that Ohanian is a massive cheerleader of women’s sports. One of his early investments in this regard was in the NWSL club, Angel City FC, which has achieved huge milestones. A few months ago, he revealed the actual reason behind investing in women’s soccer.

Ohanian’s Angel City FC investment was not because of his family

During an interview, the Reddit co-founder reminisced about his early investment in women’s sports and how he was motivated to put his money into it. While many regarded that it might have been due to his wife and daughter, Ohanian had a contradictory viewpoint.

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He said, “I don’t want anyone to think that I did this because I have a daughter, very proud girl dad. It’s not because of that. I think I think everyone has a role to play in this, and what really sparked it was long before Angel City. What sparked it was the 99ers winning in such epic fashion, and that planted something in the American psyche that connected American soccer greatness with women.”

Ever since Ohanian joined the club, it has become one of the richest clubs in the league. It is no surprise the impact that the Reddit co-founder has had on the club. Additionally, he also often attends his team’s matches, cheering them from the sidelines. Indeed, women’s sports in general and soccer in particular have got a strong backing in the form of Ohanian.

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Written by:

Vatsal Shah

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Vatsal Shah, a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports, combines sports management insight with two years of rich content creation experience. His journey at ES involves delving into the core of tennis, covering ATP/WTA tours, and contributing around 2000 articles. Notably, one of his pieces on Venus Williams garnered over 400k views.
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Edited by:

Arunima Bhanot