Entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams' husband, on rise of women's sports and personal health battle

Alexis Ohanian is a successful businessman and married to one of the greatest athletes of this generation.

In 2005, he co-founded the popular social news aggregation website Reddit. Twelve years later, he tied the knot with legendary tennis player Serena Williams, who ESPN recently ranked as the second-greatest professional athlete of the 21st century.

In 2020, Ohanian became the lead investor of a majority female group who were ultimately awarded a National Women's Soccer League expansion team — later named Angel City FC. The Los Angles-based franchise kicked off their inaugural season in 2022.

Ohanian has long been an advocate for women's athletics, and the venture capitalist recently spoke to Fox News Digital about how he had the foresight years ago to make the leap into the women's sports business.

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Alexis Ohanian, principal owner of Angel City Football Club and Los Angeles Golf Club, looks on during a conversation with Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas during the Business of Women Sport Summit presented by Deep Blue Sports and Axios at Chelsea Factory on April 23, 2024 in New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)

"In 2019, I tweeted I was going to buy an NSWL team, this was March of 2019… before the World Cup, and credit to Alex Morgan who reached out and said ‘I can help you with that.’ I got real smart real fast thanks to talking to her and other stars in the league. And obviously this expansion, which led to Angel City."

However, Ohanian admitted that his venture into professional women's soccer was met with some doubt. 

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"Back then I had a lot of people who told me I was going to lose all of my money because no one watched women's sports. (But) what I told them is that they were wrong."

Ohanian's bet on women's soccer has certainly paid off. His NWSL team generated more revenue than any other women's sports team in the world last year, per CNBC.

Angel City FC recently entered an agreement to make Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, the club's new controlling owners, the team announced on July 17.  The investment values the franchise at a record $250 million, making Angel City FC the most valuable women's professional sports team in the world. Iger and Bay are expected to invest an additional $50 million into the team, according to ESPN.

Alexis Ohanian reacts during the Women's Singles Third Round match between Ajla Tomlijanovic of Australia and Serena Williams of the United States on Day Five of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sept. 2, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)

Ohanian expressed excitement about partnering with Iger and Bay and offered his continued support for the club going forward. 

"I couldn't ask for better partners than Willow & Bob who will have the board control necessary to be true control owners. I'm excited to continue to serve on the board and support this team in the new chapter," Ohanian wrote in part on X. 

According to projections from global accounting firm Deloitte, women's sports could generate an estimated revenue of over $1 billion in 2024. That figure represents a 300% increase in the industry's 2021 evaluation.

Angel City FC reportedly rejected an offer from Avram Glazer to take a controlling stake in the team. Glazer is a part-owner of the Premier League's Manchester United, and the Glazer family also owns the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"In the last few years, obviously the world has shown unequivocally, people everywhere watches women's sports. And the numbers don't lie. The why that everyone asks me then and still asks me now… social media doesn't lie. Look at follow accounts, look at engagement… the women in college basketball were crushing the men three years ago," Ohanian noted.

Alexis Ohanian at Sportico Invest Los Angeles held at 1 Hotel West Hollywood on May 8, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.  (Jesse Grant/Sportico via Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Dawn Staley, Paige Bueckers and a host of others have been credited for the unprecedented rise in popularity in women's basketball over the past couple of years. However, women's sports as a whole has recently experienced a sharp rise in demand. 

Additionally, the success of women's sports is not limited to the soccer turf or the basketball court. American tennis sensation Coco Gauff drove draw record viewership to last year's US Open tournament.

Around 3.4 million tuned in to watch Guaff's grand slam final victory over former world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, per data compiled by Nielsen at the time. The women's final considerably outdrew the men's final, despite all-time great Novak Djokovic competing and ultimately winning the title. The Djokovic-Medvedev final drew an estimated 2.3 million viewers.

On the international stage, the 2024 Summer Olympics, which begins later this month in Paris, is expected to feature an equal number of male and female athletes. The Summer Games have yet to experience that balance.

Ohanian also recently revealed some personal news, saying he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease. The 41-year-old, who shares two children with Williams, said he learned he had the disease following a full-body scan.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian attend the 2023 Costume Institute Benefit celebrating "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2023 in New York City. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

"Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease," he wrote on X.

"Doing a full battery of health scans, tests, etc, and found out I have lyme disease. Wild. No symptoms, thankfully, but gonna treat. Good cholesterol is too low. Bad cholesterol is just OK. Gotta work on that. On the plus-side: 822 ng/dL total + 162 ng/dL free testosterone."

Ohanian added that he was caught off guard considering he does not frequent the "wilderness."

"I've got a loved one who had it a few years back, showed tons symptoms etc and just couldn't figure it out until they tested him for it and then found it (treated it successfully, too). I spend so little time in the wilderness/northeast this was quite a surprise."

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However, the entrepreneur seems to be determined not to let the diagnosis discourage him.

"Anyway, gonna grab some antibiotics — can’t keep me down, tick!" he wrote.

According to data from The Mayo Clinic, Lyme disease is "an illness caused by borrelia bacteria." An individual can contract the disease if they are bitten by a tick that is infected with the disease.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Alexis Ohanian will remain on Angel City FC's board of directors, while Bob Iger and Willow Bay are expected to become the club's new controlling owners. 

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