Fact Check: Trump Once Played Tennis Against Serena Williams. See the Video Here
Trump briefly played Williams in April 2015 to mark the opening of a Trump-backed tennis facility. Multiple reputable news outlets documented the moment, publishing videos of the volley from several angles. However, the specific origin of footage in several social media posts that circulated in late 2024 was unknown.
Videos purporting to show U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and tennis champion Serena Williams playing tennis against each other circulated online in late 2024.
For example, on Nov. 14, an X user shared a video (archived) supposedly showing the exchange, writing, “Donald Trump wore a full suit, took off his shoes and STILL challenged Serena Williams to a tennis match. The way he fearlessly tries new things without shame is honestly incredible.”
The videos, which also circulated on TikTok, were indeed authentic. They were not the product of digital editing, nor artificial intelligence (AI) software. The footage was captured by reputable news outlets on April 7, 2015, during an event to mark the opening of a Trump-backed tennis facility at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia. (The facility remained open as of this writing.)
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