Serena Williams pledges 'fun summer' with U.S. Open, Heineken partnership

Serena Williams is looking ahead to this year's U.S. Open, but not for the reasons you might expect.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner is partnering with Heineken 0.0, the nonalcoholic version of the Dutch beer, to give fans a shot at sitting in the brand's suite at this year's Open. Heineken's "Second Serve Tickets" program will accept photos of fans' ticket stubs from any of Williams' past matches as contest entries. Heineken 0.0 will also reimagine the stubs from Williams' six previous Open wins as limited edition cans sold at the venue for this year's event.

Williams, speaking to USA TODAY via telephone, says she's "disappointed" she didn't collect the actual ticket stubs from her six wins. Ticket stubs, along with trading cards, soared in popularity and market value during the collectible boom that happened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Then again, I never really had a ticket, but I guess other people did have a ticket," the tennis icon, 44, continues. "So I should have collected those."

Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, has amassed the largest collection of Williams trading cards in the world; a staggering 3,000-plus according to collectible industry outlet PSA Magazine. As for the athlete herself, Williams has received gifts from friends that she's added to her personal collection. She did make it a point to collect two things from her career: Wheaties boxes and match-used outfits of note. She's also won quite a few trophies, which sit in a separate room in her house that she "never" goes in.

Serena Williams talks about celebrities and the fans at US Open

Williams' Heineken 0.0 campaign is focused on the fans. In 2024, the six-time Open champion experienced the tournament for the first time as a spectator. She remembers trying the viral chicken nuggets with caviar.

"There were so many things (going on in the venue) I didn't know that were happening, whether it was in the suites or just in the stands," she remarks. And Williams is right; from beverages to food to celebrity sightings to DJs and performances, the U.S. Open has evolved into one of the premiere summer events in New York City. "It was fun. It was a really good experience."

Speaking of the celebrity sightings, for all of the big names that came to watch Williams over the years at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, only one name sticks out: Diana Ross, who performed at the U.S. Open in 2006.

"She's so classic and that was super cool to me and super exciting," Williams says. As for other celebrity encounters, "you're on the court and you look up and there's people in the stands, but you try to focus on the match.

"It's like, 'Oh man, don't look,'" she adds with a laugh.

Will Serena Williams play in the 2026 US Open?

At the onset, Williams' partnership with Heineken 0.0 around the U.S. Open wouldn't raise too many eyebrows given her history with the event. Williams' six singles championships at the tournament have yielded an impressive 108-15 record.

"I think because it's the only Grand Slam in the States and you obviously want to do well," she explains of why she found success at the tourney, held in the New York City borough of Queens.

But given recent events, Williams' campaign with the beverage company begs the question: will she be a competitor or a spectator at this year's event? The icon returned to competition earlier this year, winning a doubles match at the HSBC Championship with Canada's Victoria Mboko. She then entered Wimbledon as a wild card and lost a three-set match in the first round to Australian Maya Joint. A knee injury forced Williams to withdraw from a doubles match alongside her sister, Venus.

"It's much better, thank goodness," Williams says of her knee. And she confirms that she's returned to the tennis court, however will not elaborate on the capacity.

"It should be a fun summer," she concludes.

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