In late April 2026, a video that allegedly shows U.S. President Donald Trump playing tennis against multi-time champion Serena Williams circulated on social media.
The clip, which appears to depict the two exchanging a casual volley in good spirits, prompted questions from commenters about its authenticity.
Trump just posted this footage of him playing tennis with Serena Williams.
How does he do it? pic.twitter.com/dG3420aZVh— johnny maga (@johnnymaga) April 27, 2026
The video was authentic, meaning it was not the product of digital editing or artificial intelligence software.
Trump posted the clip to his Truth Social account on April 27, 2026. However, it's worth noting the footage is more than a decade old. It 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.)
A variety of news media sources, including the Washington Post, local news outlets and sports journalists, recorded the moment between Williams and Trump. For example, a reporter with Washington D.C.'s NBC affiliate NBC4 documented the volley from many different angles.
The official Facebook page for the Trump National Golf Club also shared a video of the exchange on the day that it happened.
Photographer Molly Riley, an independent photographer based in Virginia, published a gallery of photographs from the event, including shots of Trump and Williams posing together on the court. Further, photos of the tennis facility on the Trump National Golf Club website show a location that matches the one seen in the videos. WTOP, a D.C. area radio station and website, also published photos of the event.
According to Washington D.C.'s CBS affiliate WUSA9, Trump introduced Williams at the event saying, "It is an honor to have the incredible Serena Williams join us today to officially open this magnificent building — she is a true champion and is the greatest of all time."
Per NBC4, Williams told attendees, "This doesn't look like your average tennis facility, and I've been in a lot of tennis facilities. This one is the best one I've ever seen."
Trump announced his 2016 presidential bid a few months after the tennis facility's opening.
In June 2016, The Associated Press reported that Williams was not endorsing or voting for Trump, nor any other candidate, citing her religion. Williams is a Jehovah's Witness and the religious organization's official website says, "We do not lobby, vote for political parties or candidates, run for government office, or participate in any action to change governments."
During Trump's hush money trial in 2024, court documents showed Williams' name on a list of notable people with whom Trump had frequent contact during the early days of his presidency in 2017, according to The Associated Press and Politico. (Snopes has not independently verified that reporting.)
When asked about her relationship to Trump by The New York Times in June 2024, Williams said, "I talk to a lot of presidents. I spoke to Barack, I spoke to the Clintons. I spoke to every president since I've been alive, including Ronald Reagan, I'll have you know." When the journalist asked for more details about what presidents want to talk about, Williams replied, "I don't know, I'm not going to go there."
Snopes has covered a variety of claims involving Williams throughout her career, including a purported social media post about COVID-19 in 2020 and a rumor that stemmed from a satirical source about her supposedly forfeiting a match against a transgender athlete.