It was a brief but blockbuster cameo.

For less than five seconds in the closing moments of the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show, as headliner Kendrick Lamar performed his Grammy-award winning Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” the camera flipped to the corner of the stage to show 43-year-old tennis all-time-great Serena Williams crip walking.

@nfl

GAME OVER #KendrickLamar #NFL #AppleMusicHalftime @Apple Music @Roc Nation

♬ original sound – NFL

Williams’ appearance was notable for several reasons: Like Lamar, she grew up in Compton, the California city known for its significance to the history of hip-hop. Also like Lamar, Williams is not the biggest fan of Drake, to put it mildly. The two were rumored to have dated years ago, with Drake referencing Williams in his 2013 song “Worst Behavior” and again in his 2022 song “Middle of the Ocean,” in which he derided her now-husband Alexis Ohanian as a “groupie.”

READ: Serena Williams Stuns the Fashion World with Jaw-Dropping Style Hours After Cherishing Family Moment

Lamar even mentions Williams in the lyrics of “Not Like Us,” seemingly telling Drake he “better not speak on Serena.”

While hosting last year’s ESPY Awards, Williams teased, “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s that none of us, not a single one of us, not even me, should ever pick a fight with Kendrick Lamar,” before dancing to “Not Like Us.” “He will make your hometown not like you. The next time Drake sits courtside at a Raptors game, they’re going to Forrest Gump him. Seats taken.”

Williams also has a personal connection to the specific dance she performed on the Super Bowl stage. It recalled her celebration at the Wimbledon court in London after beating Maria Sharapova to secure the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. At the time, she faced an onslaught of criticism for what commentators described as crass and inappropriate. “What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church,” Fox Sports’ Jason Whitlock said. Others, like Los Angeles Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke, suggested the dance glamorized gang violence. “It was just a dance,” Williams, whose older sister Yetunde Price was killed by a member of the Southside Crips gang in 2003, responded when questioned in 2012.

More than 12 years later, however, she still remembers the backlash, which defenders long claimed was overblown and racist: “Man, I did not crip walk like that at Wimbledon. Ooh, I would’ve been fined,” Williams joked on social media on Sunday night.

Williams’ Super Bowl halftime-show cameo quickly took the internet by storm.

“serena ate that” 20-year-old tennis star Coco Gauff posted on X. “You did that!!!” Venus Williams said. The official accounts of the U.S. Olympic Team and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships also gave Williams plaudits.

“For those of y’all who weren’t outside, the media tore Serena to shreds for crip walking at Wimbledon,” one user wrote on X. “Her coming back to do a dance that references a culture she’s actually a part of, during a live performance criticizing someone for being a culture vulture is *chef’s kiss.*”

Lamar also earned praise for including Williams: “kendrick bringing out serena williams to crip walk after drake stalked that woman publicly for years and obsessively threw shots at her for turning him down is so wild, that man is the definition of chaotic good,” one X user commented.

While others seemed to almost feel sorry for Drake: “Serena Williams crip walking to a song about you being a pedophile has to hurt existentially,” wrote one X user. Said another: “If my ex girlfriend was on the tv crip walking to a song calling me a pedophile at the super bowl my feelings would be hurt to say the least.”

Serena Williams sends her fans a defiant message in tough socioeconomic times for Americans across the United States as the legendary tennis star wows in a white dress, looking far younger than 43 years old.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner is now into the next phase of her career as she tackles motherhood but she seems to be handling the pressure just fine, with no signs of stress on her face.

Rolling back the years, the iconic sportswoman posed in an all-white satin slip-on dress with blonde hair curling around her shoulders as jewellery adorned her hands. Showing off her arms and her chest, she proved she’s managing to fend off her postpartum challenges.

READ: “This Happens to Me Too”: Coco Gauff Opens Up on Disturbing Stalking Experiences

Doing so, she sent a rallying message to women around the world that there is always a way back and they must be accepting of who they are, reminding people self-love is as important as ever in this day and age.

“Loving yourself is essential,” William sposted to X.com, formerly Twitter. “I find that I have to remind myself of that self-love through all different stages in my life. Right now, I love that my body is not picture perfect.

“I love that I smell like milk – that milk sustains @adiraohanian. I love getting to know a new version of my body. It is a change, but it’s a change that has been well worth it. So start this week knowing that you are loved, and that starts with you.”

Williams’ pregnancy struggles

Williams dominated tennis from the 1990s through to 2017, when she finally backed away from the sport after giving birth to her eldest daughter, Alexis. Then in August 2023, her second daughter followed and is named Adira.

Williamshad to deliver Alexis through a caesarean section, an invasive surgery that includes cutting open the abdomen to withdraw the child from the uterus, which leaves a scar below the belly button.

Now she is fighting back to love herself once again and combined with her faith through her beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness and determination as a professional athlete, she seems well on that track.

Despite her announced retirement in 2022, Serena Williams remains one of the greatest tennis players in history. She is also an accomplished businesswoman.

Since she recently opened the doors of her sumptuous Florida home to the Architectural Digest team, we were able to get a glimpse of this extraordinary residence.

A family partnership

READ: Serena Williams opens up about health scare after friend’s sudden passing

It was in 2017 that the tennis legend and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, acquired the 1,350 m² mansion for the modest sum of $5.7 million. Located in Jupiter, an enclave prized by celebrities such as Tiger Woods and Céline Dion, the property marked a new stage in the champion’s life, as for the first time in 20 years, she no longer shared the same roof as her sister Venus. However, they collaborated to design this luxurious home.

Together, the Williams sisters redesigned the property, transforming it from a Mediterranean style to a sleeker, modern look. Venus brought her expertise through her interior design company V Starr to create spaces that were functional, singular and elegant.

An art gallery instead of a living room

One of the most striking features of Serena Williams’ home is the absence of a traditional living room. Instead, she has set up an art gallery where she displays works by renowned artists. There are also pieces evoking her career, such as trophies from her victories at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. This private gallery is a bright, open space, showcasing every work of art.

Other surprising and exceptional pieces

As Serena Williams had her daughter, Alexis Olympia, the same year, this home was designed to meet the needs of her little family. In particular, she and Venus have customized the kitchen so that she can prepare family meals with ease and in optimal comfort. It features a trapezoidal table, marble backsplash and, of course, top-of-the-range appliances.

The immense mansion also boasts a trophy room that pays tribute to the champion’s exceptional career. It houses iconic memorabilia, including her Wheaties boxes and replicas of her most prestigious trophies. In addition, the house includes a music room equipped for karaoke, a perfect venue for convivial evenings with family and friends. We didn’t forget her gigantic 60 m² dressing room, a dream come true for this style icon, who has also created a successful clothing brand called S by Serena.

Tennis legend Serena Williams has faced countless battles on the court, but one of the most terrifying moments of her life had nothing to do with tennis.

In a deeply emotional reflection, the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed how the sudden death of her close friend, JR Ridinger, brought back painful memories of her own near-fatal health scare.

Ridinger, a successful entrepreneur and co-founder of Market America, passed away unexpectedly from a blood clot in 2022, just hours after posting a heartfelt tribute to Williams on social media, celebrating her performance at her final US Open.

READ: Bizarre video of Donald Trump playing tennis against Serena Williams resurfaces as internet says ‘that’s crazy’

Williams, still grappling with the emotional weight of his loss, recently took to social media to express just how deeply his passing affected her.

“At my last US Open, a good friend of mine JR Ridinger posted his last ever post here on Instagram. Of course, at the time, none of us knew that it would be his last – but it was about me and how proud he was of me in my final tournament. He had stayed up to watch me win a great battle,” she wrote.

“The next day, I got news that he had passed due to a blood clot. This was super triggering to me because I myself almost died of the same thing. Only because it was caught in time. What made me so fortunate and not others?”

Serena’s own life-threatening health crisis

Williams’ brush with death came in 2018 after she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia. Although her pregnancy had progressed normally, complications arose during labor. Olympia’s heart rate dropped dangerously, forcing doctors to perform an emergency C-section.

While the surgery was a success and Williams was able to hold her newborn for the first time, things quickly took a turn for the worse. A pulmonary embolism-life-threatening blood clots in the lungs-struck her again, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Due to her past experience with blood clots in 2011, Williams immediately recognized the symptoms and alerted the hospital staff.

Her quick thinking ultimately saved her life, but the ordeal wasn’t over. Williams’ C-section wound later reopened due to heavy coughing, leading to further complications. Doctors then discovered a large hematoma in her abdomen, requiring multiple surgeries.

The tennis icon was bedridden for six weeks, unable to properly care for her newborn. The experience left her deeply shaken, and the tragic loss of JR Ridinger only reinforced how fragile life truly is.