*Tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams will debut their new podcast, “Stockton Street,” on X, marking the platform’s 27th original show. The bi-weekly series, releasing episodes every Wednesday, kicks off Sept. 17 from the Arthur Ashe Stadium just before the U.S. Open. Named after their childhood street in Compton, California, the podcast aims to unpack their journey to becoming global tennis icons while addressing misconceptions from their careers.
The Williams sisters plan to explore a wide range of topics beyond tennis, including health, wellness, and pop culture, with guest appearances from some of their celebrity pals. “We love this moment that we’re also seeing in women’s sports and developing that lifestyle,” Serena said. “This isn’t a tennis podcast. This isn’t a sports podcast. Myself and my sister, we’ve always been part of so much more outside of that.”
Reflecting on their competitive past, the sisters acknowledge the unique dynamic of being both siblings and rivals. “As close as we are, we had to keep so many things distant because of our jobs,” Serena tells The Hollywood Reporter. “As much as she’s my sister, she’s also my opponent, and you can’t be as open as you want to be. So this a real opportunity to do something that we’ve been trying to do, and also just a discovery thing as well.”
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Venus adds, “I think a lot of people have wondered, and I talk about this in the first episode, ‘Do we really actually like each other, because we have to play each other? Do you hate each other? Do you talk to each other?’ There’s so much in our relationship that we get to share that we never have before. There’s a lot to unpack.”
The podcast offers a platform to address narratives they couldn’t control during their careers, particularly under intense media scrutiny. “When we started playing professionally, I was 14 years old. You’re a kid, and I think kids now get a lot more protection. But at the time, in the press, you could not say or do anything,” Venus said.
Serena added, “We’ve never really addressed misconceptions or even dealt with it, because we were so in the weeds of playing tennis and being our best. Now there’s a narrative that I love that we can own our own story and address our own things and address our own story in a different way.”
The podcast also touches on their playful sibling dynamic, with Serena joking about Venus’s new doubles partner: “I was jealous, don’t get me wrong. But I didn’t play, so she had every right to play without me, I guess, I suppose, not really. No, actually, outside of this, I’ve always liked Leylah Fernandez. Always looked at her and was like, ‘Oh, she’s such a hard worker,’ when I’ve seen her practice. So I was happy that they were playing together and doing so well.”
Through “Stockton Street,” the Williams sisters invite listeners into their world, sharing stories of triumph, struggle, and sisterhood.
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