Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, has opened up about the toxicity surrounding sports betting and how it affects players.
The American entrepreneur, who co-founded Reddit, shared his personal experience as Williams’ partner to explain why he refuses to invest in betting companies.
Serena Williams’ Husband Alexis Ohanian on the Toxicity of Sports Betting
Sports betting has been around in tennis for a long time, with fans able to bet on match outcomes, sets, and even specific statistics. However, while the feeling of winning a bet can be great, sports betting also has many adverse effects.
Players around the world have complained about receiving derogatory messages, abuse, and death threats from bettors whenever they lose a match. Ohanian, who married Williams in 2017, spoke about how he has encountered this toxicity first-hand.
“The worst toxicity I’ve seen on the internet — it was jarring when I first started dating my wife. The worst toxicity that I would get was from psychopathic racists on the internet. And it was tied to sports betting. Tennis is a unique sport where there’s always been a lot of sports betting, where there’s always been a lot of energy around it,” Ohanian said on the TBPN show.
Ohanian also spoke about the weight the athletes carry on their shoulders, whereby a bad day at the office can lead to abuse and harassment from thousands of fans on social media.
“It feels like athletes carry a disproportionate weight from it. But if you’re an athlete, you’re literally just trying to do your job every day, in front of everyone… You already have to live every workday in front of every person on the planet. And if the downside of sports betting and its rampant growth is even more toxicity for the athletes, that feels bad,” he added.
Alexis Ohanian (@alexisohanian) says that the worst toxicity that he got when he started dating his wife Serena Williams was from people betting on sports.
“The worst toxicity I’ve seen on the internet — it was jarring, when I first started dating my wife. The worst toxicity… pic.twitter.com/VunqFnX9LW
— TBPN (@tbpn) July 13, 2026
Research from the WTA Tour, released in 2025, found that angry sports bettors accounted for 40% of all detected abuse over the previous 12 months. Coco Gauff, Iga Świątek, Jessica Pegula, and Katie Boulter have all spoken out about betting-related harassment in recent months.
On the tennis side, Ohanian was present at the All England Club last month to support his wife as she made a stunning return to Grand Slam tennis at the Wimbledon Championships.
The tennis legend competed in the singles event but lost in the first round. An injury suffered during the match meant that the 44-year-old was unable to team up with her sister, Venus Williams, in the doubles tournament.
