Serena Williams shed new light Thursday on the forthcoming podcast she’s co-hosting with her sister Venus, which debuts in August on X.

Speaking at Stagwell’s Sport Beach during Cannes Lions, Williams discussed the personal motivations behind the show, which was announced in June, and previewed the show’s tone and topics.

“When Venus and I were playing tennis, social media was different,” she told Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, during the panel. “People didn’t get to know us—now we have the opportunity to do that.” 

She said the show would be more open and cover topics like Black maternal health, women’s sports, business, and motherhood.

A longtime investor and founder of a venture firm, Williams said the podcast will spotlight female entrepreneurs and disruptors in sports and culture. 

She cited Jeanie Buss’ $10 billion sale of the Los Angeles Lakers as a perfect example of a subject matter that she would like to have explored on the show. She also stressed that the show would center its conversations on positivity, partly in response to criticism Williams faced during her career.

“When you’re a female entrepreneur, you work harder because you get fewer opportunities and so many no’s,” Williams said. “I feel like my whole life I’ve been going against the grain.”

The show will premiere on X before expanding to other audio platforms, and will feature interviews with “visionaries, creators, and rulebreakers,” according to an earlier press release. 

Produced by Serena’s Nine Two Six Productions, the podcast joins a growing slate of original content on the platform, including shows from Khloé Kardashian and live WNBA games.

Notably, the launch marks the second time in recent months that a member of Serena’s household has struck a distribution deal with X. 

Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, co-produced The Offseason, a docuseries on NWSL players, which premiered on X after traditional streamers passed due to creative control concerns.

Ohanian declined to share commercial details during ADWEEK’s Brandweek event in September. He pointed to Yaccarino’s tenure at NBCUniversal, where she led ad sales—including at marquee franchises like the Olympics—as a key reason for the decision.

As a distribution partner, X offers several key advantages. It has massive scale, reaching roughly 600 million monthly users, and—unlike many of the subscription-based streaming services—viewers can access it for free.

Still, the social network has had missteps on this front before. Former CNN anchor Don Lemon sued X in August, arguing that billionaire owner Elon Musk refused to pay him after a content deal with the social media platform fell apart.

And while Musk has expressed his aspiration for X to host more original video programming, the network has yet to produce a signature series. The second season of The Offseason will not stream exclusively on X, Ohanian said at the time.

Williams did not mention the overlap during the panel. Instead, when elaborating on why she chose X as the host platform for the show, she pointed to its value as a platform for uninhibited expression. 

Williams also has a substantial following on X, with more than 10 million followers.  

“It’s a place where you can be real and get feedback on your thoughts,” she told Yaccarino.