Top Serena Williams Cards to Collect
Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player to ever play the game and one of the best athletes in history. Her record-smashing performances on the court have given way to a record-setting market for Serena Williams cards.
While she started competing in professional events in 1995, the first Serena Williams cards appeared in 1999. However, it was not until 2003 that the hobby was treated to traditional tennis cards for Williams. Many of these 2003 NetPro cards remain some of her most in-demand cards.
View high-end Serena Williams cards currently availableΒ on eBay.
Now that the push for high-grade editions has really started to heat up, her most valauble cards can sell for five and even six figures.
Although not every single Serena Williams card is covered, the guide below touches on many of the best options available from her cardboard career.
Top Serena Williams Tennis Cards
Shop for singles or check completed sales values using the eBay links.
1999 Sports Illustrated for Kids Serena Williams #814
For the very first Serena Williams card, collectors must literally turn the pages in the July 1999 issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids. While once seen as a niche, oddball offering, the SI cards are the go-to card for many top athletes.
Condition issues are a concern for the individual cards as they come in perforated sheets. Serena is joined by Rickey Henderson, Randy Moss, Allen Iverson, and others in her debut.
This format puts an extreme premium on high-grade versions. In January 2022, a PSA 10 version sold for $117,000.
Collectors can also find Sports Illustrated for Kids cards featuring a very young pairing of Venus and Serena together (#877) from 2000.
In addition, the Serena Williams (#220) card from 2002 is a more affordable option among her early releases.
2002 Czech Stadion World Stars Serena Williams #567
Fans digging a little deeper can turn their sights to the Czech-issued Stadion World Stars series. The multi-year set includes a Serena Williams card with rounded corners.
2003 NetPro Serena Williams RC #1
However, the mainstream favorite is her card in 2003 NetPro Premier Edition.
This card is generally viewed as the official Serena Williams rookie card, but she obviously has many other 2003 NetPro cards.
Also in the main 2003 NetPro base set, the accomplished Williams Sisters (#51) are honored for facing off at the 2002 Wimbledon finals.
Both cards offer limited Glossy (PR=5,000 copies) versions with a #G- prefix, as well. These are from the factory Premier Edition set and remain a huge chase card, especially the #G-1.
Another option is the short-printed Serena Williams #100 base card.
2003 NetPro Elite Serena Williams #2 (PR=2,000 copies)
Available in a factory Limited Edition Collectors Set format, the 2003 NetPro Elite Serena Williams card is capped at 2,000 cards.
Limited to just 100 copies, the ultra-rare Glossy cards fall one per set. A Gem Mint G2 card, graded PSA 10, sold for $96,000 in January 2022.
2003 NetPro International Series Promo Serena Williams #PROMO
Nearly impossible to find, the elusive 2003 NetPro International Series promo totals less than 100 copies overall. These cards were provided to Hobby shops.
2003 NetPro International Series Serena Williams #2
Much easier to track down, Serena's base card in the International Series release can also be much easier on the wallet.
For those looking for a challenge, the Preview version of this card (#P2) is serial-numbered to 500 copies. These are inserted in the Glossy Premier Edition factory set.
2003 NetPro International Series Elite Star Serena Williams #2 (PR=500 copies)
Another difficult collecting task is acquiring her card from the NetPro Elite Star set. The 20-card set was released after the main International Series product. Despite having 500 copies, these rarely surface.
2003 NetPro International Series Court Authentic Serena Williams Autographs
Although the majority of the Serena Williams cards are base cards or inserts, there are a few premium chase options, including hard-signed autographs.
The most common is the standard on-card autograph (#2C) signed in thick, black ink, which has 500 copies.
Much more limited at just 100 copies is the autograph relic (#2A). If you had to pick one, this would likely be the "holy grail" of Serena Williams cards. A PSA 5 version sold for $44,280 in October 2021.
2003 NetPro International Series Court Authentic Serena Williams Relics
A third option from the NetPro Court Authentic line is the match-worn apparel relic (#2B), which is numbered to 500.
Card #2D, limited to 1,000 copies, is the most common of the group.
There are five additional relic cards, each numbered to 100 copies, found in the Elite Stars set, along with a Bonus Apparel card (#/25).
2008 Donruss Sports Legends Champions Signatures Serena Williams #C-17 Autograph #/50
Jumping ahead a few years, 2008 Donruss Sports Legends brings chromium designs and a limited autograph to the table. The Champions Signatures card has just 50 copies at the base autograph level, plus a few rare parallels.
While the signed cards rarely appear for sale, her base cards are much more plentiful.
2008 Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Mini Autographs Serena Williams #AGA-SJW
The same year, Topps released another Serena Williams autograph in the popular 2008 Allen & Ginter Baseball set. This framed card has a reported print run of 190 copies, so they can be tricky to find at times.
Williams also has a framed A&G relic card as well as base cards and minis.
2018 Exquisite Collection Auto Material Upper Deck Employee Exclusive #UD-SW Autograph Relic #/199
The Exquisite Collection treatment for Serena finally came in 2018 via this Upper Deck Employee Exclusive. Limited to 199 copies, the hard-signed card was a very nice treat for UD's employees and collectors alike.
2018 UD Goodwin Champions Goudey Sports Royalty Autographs Serena Williams #SRA-SW
Another notable Upper Deck Serena Williams signature arrived in 2018 Goodwin Champions. She is featured in the Goudey Sport Royalty Autographs set alongside fellow GOATs Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky, with overall odds of 1:8,000 packs.
Leaf Serena Williams Autographs
All things considered, the easiest and most affordable place to find a Serena Williams autograph card is from Leaf. These cards are by no means cheap but the supply is decent and Williams has been featured in multiple sets over the years, so there is plenty of variety. And the individual print runs are usually pretty limited, as well.
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