Serena Williams Will Make Fanatics Fest Debut to Compete Against Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady and More Surprise Stars (Exclusive)

Skyler CarusoThu, June 18, 2026 at 2:03 PM UTC

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Serena Williams.Credit: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty for Netflix

The tennis G.O.A.T. is back in competition mode.

Serena Williams will make her Fanatics Fest debut this summer when the world's largest arena for sports and collectibles returns for its third annual installment at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City from Thursday, July 16 to Sunday, July 19.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, 44, will face off against some of the biggest names in sports — including Tom Brady, Novak Djokovic, John Cena, Rob Gronkowski, Cam Skattebo, Jordan Chiles, Jaxson Dart, among other stars — in the anticipated Fanatics Games, PEOPLE can confirm.

Serena Williams of the USA at The Queen's Club, London.Credit: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty

"We've got 50 of the greatest athletes, celebrities and artists competing against 50 average Joe fans," Fanatics founder and CEO Michael Rubin tells PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the event. "Brady, Williams, Djokovic, that's the quality of people we have competing in these games."

"I was watching a back and forth text change between Djokovic and Brady about who is going to get first place," he adds of the games, which are stacked with more than $2 million in prizes. The winner gets $2 million cash, second gets a Ferrari and third gets a rare Messi trading card valued at $250,000.

Williams, who recently returned to tennis for the first time in four years and will soon play doubles at Wimbledon with sister Venus, will take on a different form of competition at Fanatics Fest — and it won't involve the sport.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Joao Fonseca of Brazil during the Men's Singles third round match on Day Six of the 2026 French Open.Credit: Daniel Kopatsch/Getty

The professional athletes will face the fans in an array of athletic challenges, including NFL Clutch Kick, NBA Game Winning Shot, WWE Superstar Entrance, UFC Striking, MLB Pitching, NHL Shoot & Score, Dick's Sporting Goods Putting and FIFA Ultimate Goal.

The variety of skill challenges across a mix of sports is fitting given the timing of Fanatics Fest and its unique alignment with the number of sporting events happening around N.Y.C. The event kicks off the day after the ESPYs and concludes on the same day as the World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium.

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"What's going to make this year so special is it's in the middle of the World Cup Final. You have the biggest stars in the world descending to Fanatics Fest... it's just going to be absolutely spectacular," says Rubin, who notes the World Cup Finals presser will also be held at the Javits Center.

"We'll have the two captains two days before they're going to play in the biggest match of their lives," he adds. "If it's a repeat of 2022, you'd have the coach and team captain. In that case, you'd have [Kylian] Mbappé and [Lionel] Messi at Fanatics Fest with tens of thousands of fans going crazy for their team," says Rubin, referencing Argentina's win over France in Qatar's World Cup four years ago.

Tom Brady speaks at the Fanatics Fest NYC 2024.Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty

To level up Fanatics Fest this year, the New York Knicks will be in attendance following their 2026 NBA Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs, securing the championship title for the first time in 53 years.

"We'll have big presence from the current New York Knicks and former Knicks every day throughout the four-day event," confirms Rubin.

Basically, the entire team is coming: Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson and more. Plus, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart will be doing a live taping of their podcast, The Roommates Show, where they'll interview New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge.

Tom Brady and Kevin Hart onstage during the "Cold As Balls" stage at Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 21, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Rob Kim/Getty

"Day after day the content is spectacular. The guests are incredible. I was thinking about Wemby, who's coming to Fanatics Fest, and just how we need to make sure to increase security for him," Rubin says of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, whose team fell to the Knicks in five during the championship series.

"We're going to make sure it's an egg-free environment for Wemby," he quips. "We're going to protect our guy. He's incredible. He's one of the nicest and best human beings in the world. We're going to make sure to give him a New York Fanatics Fest experience, not a New York Knicks experience."

Above all, Rubin places the fans at the forefront of the experience.

"Everything's got to be about the fans," he tells PEOPLE. "It's the biggest fan give back we do. It's the hardest thing we do each year. We plan for it from the second it ends until the next one. How do we raise the bar? How do we keep making it better? This year, there are so many ways."

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Source: “AOL Sports”