Drake is a fan. We know this. He’s the guy who courtside-emotes at Raptors games and gets tattoos of his idols. But his long, weird, and occasionally salty history with Serena Williams is different. It’s not just a fandom; it’s a decade-long saga that involves secret dates in Cincinnati, petty lyrics about "groupie" husbands, and a very public crip-walk at the Super Bowl that felt like a final, definitive "it's over."
If you’ve been following the Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake war, you saw Serena on that stage. She wasn't just there for the vibes. She was there because the drake and serena williams drama has more layers than a puff pastry, and most of them are surprisingly awkward.
The Sushi Date Heard 'Round the World
Let's go back to 2011. That's when the rumors started. Drake was tweeting at Serena, showing up to her matches, and doing that thing where he tries to look like he’s not looking at her. By 2015, the "rumors" became "oh, they’re definitely a thing."
They were caught on camera at a Sotto, a high-end Italian restaurant in Cincinnati. They weren't just eating pasta. They were, in the words of every tabloid at the time, "all over each other."
But Serena is a competitor first. At a press conference that same year, she famously referred to Drake as "just like family." Talk about a friend-zone heard across the border. While she was calling him a brother, Drake was busy trailing her to tournaments in Mason, Ohio, and sitting in the front row of her Fashion Week shows.
Why the "Drake Curse" Started Here
A lot of people forget that the "Drake Curse"—the idea that Drake showing up to support an athlete makes them lose—actually gained massive steam because of Serena. In 2015, she was on the verge of a historic Grand Slam. She just needed the U.S. Open. Drake was there. He was front and center.
She lost.
The internet didn't just blame her backhand. They blamed the guy in the OVO hoodie. Whether it’s fair or not, that loss became a pivotal point in their public narrative. Shortly after, the trail went cold. By late 2015, Serena had met Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. By 2016, she was engaged.
Drake Can't Help But Put It on Record
Drake doesn't handle being moved on from very quietly. He’s a "tell-all" songwriter who hides his feelings in plain sight. In 2016, he dropped "Too Good" with Rihanna. For years, people speculated who the lyrics—"I’m too good to you / You take my love for granted"—were about.
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Fast forward to 2024. Drake literally released archival footage (the "100 Gigs" drop) where he’s sitting with his mom, Sandi Graham. He flat-out tells her, "This is more about me and Serena."
It’s kinda fascinating, honestly. He’s the biggest rapper in the world, yet he’s venting to his mom about a tennis legend who chose a tech guy over him. But the lyrics didn't stop at "Too Good."
The "Groupie" Comment that Sparked a War
In 2022, Drake released Her Loss with 21 Savage. On the track "Middle of the Ocean," he decided to get specific. Real specific.
"Sidebar, Serena, your husband a groupie / He claim we don't got a problem but / No, boo, it is like you coming for sushi."
Calling the father of Serena’s children a "groupie" was a choice. It was a direct callback to that 2015 sushi date in Cincinnati. It felt like Drake was trying to remind the world (and Serena) that he was there first.
Alexis Ohanian didn't stay quiet. He hopped on X (formerly Twitter) and basically said, "The reason I stay winning is because I’m relentless about being the absolute best at whatever I do—including being the best groupie for my wife and daughter."
That’s a masterclass in how to handle a rap diss. He didn't try to rap back. He just leaned into it. He won that round without ever mentioning Drake’s name.
The Kendrick Lamar Factor: Serena’s Final Word?
The drake and serena williams drama reached its fever pitch in 2024 and early 2025. When Kendrick Lamar released "Not Like Us," the ultimate Drake takedown, it became a global anthem. But the real shocker was the Super Bowl halftime show in early 2025.
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There was Serena Williams. On stage. Dancing.
She didn't just stand there. She crip-walked. In the context of the Kendrick-Drake beef, this was massive. Kendrick’s song is about Drake not being "one of us," not being "authentic," and being a "colonizer" of cultures. By Serena appearing on stage during that specific song, she was essentially picking a side.
Later, she told Time magazine that it "absolutely wasn't shade." She claimed she has "never had negative feelings" toward Drake and that they’ve known each other for years.
Do we believe her? Maybe. But in the world of celebrity optics, you don't dance to a diss track of your "friend" on the world's biggest stage unless you're making a point.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Feud
A lot of people think this is just a bitter ex-boyfriend situation. It’s more complicated. Drake actually credits Serena for one of his biggest wins.
In a 2019 interview with Rap Radar, Drake revealed that Serena was the one who pushed him to finish "Back to Back," the legendary diss track against Meek Mill. He was with her at the time, and she told him, "You gotta finish it. You can't do some s*** for the moment and then it goes away."
She gave him the "battery in his back." So, there’s this weird duality. She helped him become a killer in the rap game, but then he used those same skills to take shots at her husband years later. It’s messy. It’s human. It’s exactly why we can't stop talking about it.
The Recent "Shady" Like
Even as recently as November 2025, Drake was still poking the bear. He posted photos with Sexyy Red in a tennis-themed shoot. The caption was a lyric: "I said tennis lesson she said where’s the bracelet or the necklace."
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A fan commented, "Serena Williams upgrade."
Drake liked the comment.
At 39 years old, Drizzy is still engaging with "shady" Instagram comments about a woman he hasn't dated in a decade. It’s a level of pettiness that is honestly kind of impressive if it wasn't so exhausting.
Why This Drama Still Matters
So, what’s the takeaway here? Why does the drake and serena williams drama still hold our attention?
Because it’s a collision of two GOATs. Serena is arguably the greatest athlete to ever pick up a racket. Drake has dominated the charts for fifteen years. When two people of that stature have a falling out, it’s not just gossip; it’s cultural history.
It also highlights the difference in how they handle their legacies. Serena has moved into her "retired and thriving" era—investing in tech, raising her daughters, and appearing at the Super Bowl just to remind everyone she’s still that girl. Drake, meanwhile, is still in the trenches, liking comments and writing bars about sushi dates from 2015.
How to Navigate Your Own "Drake-Level" Drama
If there’s any lesson to be learned from this decade of back-and-forth, it’s these three things:
- The best revenge is living well. Serena didn't write a poem or a song. She just lived a life that looks incredibly fulfilling, which seems to bother her ex more than any diss track ever could.
- Be careful who you take advice from. Serena gave Drake the "killer instinct" for "Back to Back," and he eventually turned that energy back toward her family.
- The internet never forgets. Those sushi photos from Cincinnati are ten years old, yet they are still the reference point for a chart-topping rap song in 2022.
If you’re looking to move past a situation like this, take a page out of the Serena Williams playbook. Acknowledge the history, keep it cordial in interviews, but when it’s time to show up, make sure you’re on the winning team.
The next step is to look at the lyrics of "Middle of the Ocean" again. Now that you know the sushi context, those lines hit differently. It’s not just a rap verse; it’s a time capsule of a relationship that never quite found its closure.
Next Steps for You
- Check out the "100 Gigs" footage if you want to see the literal moment Drake admits "Too Good" is about Serena.
- Watch the "Not Like Us" Super Bowl performance to see Serena's cameo for yourself—the body language says more than the interviews ever will.
- Follow Alexis Ohanian on X if you want to see how to handle celebrity shade with actual class.