Do you remember when Serena Williams and Drake were rumored to be dating? Because we do! Back in 2015, the tennis superstar was photographed cozying up with the “Hotline Bling” rapper. They were full-on making out!

It wasn’t that surprising to see Drake and Serena linking up because he shouted her out on Twitter in 2011 to express his interest. He tagged her and wrote, “I cannot wait to put it on you and make you sweat… During our match this weekend.” 

But their connection came to an abrupt halt after those viral kissing pics and Serena married another man a couple years later in 2017. So, what went wrong? And does Serena hate Drake at this point? Based on her dance moves at the 2025 Super Bowl half-time show, plenty of fans think she does.

Drama Between Serena Williams and Drake

When paparazzi snapped pics of Drake and Serena kissing at a Cincinnati restaurant, fans were floored. TMZ was all over it, spreading the pics like wildfire on August 24, 2015. 

Drake’s hot pursuit of Serena made sense, given the women he’s shown interest in before. As a reminder, he talked openly about having crushes on Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. 

In 2017, Serena tied the knot with Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Reddit. They now share two daughters, so it’s pretty clear that Serena moved on from that short-lived fling with Drake. However, Drake didn’t let go of their failed connection as easily as she did.

His song “Worst Behavior” is believed to be about his heartbreak over losing her as he raps, “I am with my whole set, tennis matches at the crib. I swear I could beat Serena when she plays with her left.”

In “Nothings Into Somethings,” Drake’s lyrics hit hard as he spills the emotional pain of seeing an ex move on without getting any closure. It’s widely believed the track was written with Serena in mind.

If Serena was annoyed by Drake dropping songs about her, no wonder they’re not currently on friendly terms. That’s probably why she’d accept an invitation from Kendrick Lamar to dance during Kendrick’s Super Bowl Half-time show. 

Kendrick performed his hit diss track against Drake called “Not Like Us.” The diss track is a fan fave that’s pulled in over a billion streams and earned him five Grammy awards to top it off. 

When Lamar performed it at the Super Bowl, the entire crowd was rapping along with him in the heat of the moment. As the camera panned over Serena doing the C-walk during “Not Like Us,“ it quickly reminded the world that Drake and Serena used to date … and it can not have ended amicably.

Is it possible Serena could have avoided sour feelings for Drake if he hadn’t dropped tracks after they called it quits that were rumored to be about her? We’ll never officially know unless she speaks up. For now, her actions speak volumes.