Serena Williams has long made her admiration for music known. Many of us saw her c-walking on stage at Super Bowl LIX during the Apple Music Halftime Show, in which Kendrick Lamar issued a warning to rapper Drake. Other rappers have also shouted Serena out over the course of her career. On his 2010 single “My Chick Bad,” rapper Ludacris noted that a woman in his life “always brings the racket like [sisters] Venus and Serena [Williams].” But while Serena has an eclectic taste in music, there’s one performer who stands out among them all.
Serena has long sung the praises of the one-and-only Beyoncé. During a May 2022 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Serena expressed elation over Bey’s performance at the Oscars earlier that year, which saw Bey and a group of dancers perform “Be Alive” on the tennis courts in Compton where Venus and Serena practiced growing up. "Beyoncé is a genius,” Serena said at the time. “I think she is, obviously, the most amazing person and performer ever, and I really liked her idea behind it. Like to have the idea to come up and perform where we grew up. Because I went back, and I thought, ‘Can I even begin to fathom having such a superstar come back and do that at those courts.’”
For context, “Be Alive” appears on the soundtrack to King Richard, a biopic about Serena and Venus’ dad, Richard Williams. But this wasn’t the first time Serena or Bey paid homage to each other, nor would it be the last.
Beyoncé and Serena Williams Have Been Hyping Each Other Up for Years
When Serena won the French Open in 2013, Bey penned Serena a hand-written letter. “Stunt on them Serena. 31 and still in your prime. You have no idea how much you inspire all us women. I’m so proud of you.” She would continue to vocalize her support for her years later.
The instructions Bey had for Serena were fairly simple, she revealed in a May 2016 interview with Billboard. But Serena trusted Bey’s vision and went along with it. “She told me that she just wants me to dance, like just be really free and just dance like nobody’s looking and go all out. So that wasn’t easy in the beginning, but then it got easier…I thought that particular song on the visual album was really a strong song, and it was also really fun at the same time.”
In August 2022, Bey and Serena switched out lemonade for another beverage — Gatorade. Serena appeared in an ad for the famed sports drink, to which Bey provided the narration. The commercial highlighted Serena’s illustrious career, as Bey expressed love and admiration for her. “To be so in love with your identity, that your very essence can not be contained,” she said. To love that sound of your own voice and the way you move. To cherish every muscle and every curve your body exhibits. To feel like a queen, unapologetically, with the crown indefinitely. To always love being a proud Black woman, a parent, a dreamer. To always love being you – a whole you, the real you. To always love you.”
Their Bond Has Only Grown Stronger
Bey continues to return the love to Williams. In May 2025, she sent her a package featuring a big bottle of her SirDavis Whiskey, as well as some glasses. Per Sportskeeda, Williams took to her Instagram Stories to share the lovely gift. "Okay, everyone, this has literally made my day. Thank you to Beyoncé for sending a SirDavis. This is so cool. It's her whisky, so look how amazing this is. I also love the taste of it has this nice smoky flavor. Love this smoky flavor, it smells really good.” For a friendship like this? We’ll cheers to that!
