The Internet couldn’t stop talking about Serena Williams in 2025

Oops, she did it again.

Serena Williams may have hung up her racquets three years ago, but she never stopped driving the conversation. From a show-stopping moment at Super Bowl LIX to a career update that sent fans spiraling, here are three times she broke the Internet in 2025.

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Performing with Kendrick at the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Serena made a standout cameo at this year's Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, where the Kansas City Chiefs faced the Philadelphia Eagles.

She joined headline performer and fellow Compton native Kendrick Lamar to dance to “Not Like Us” during the Halftime Show, and her crip-walking quickly went viral. Coco Gauff shared her approval on X: “Serena ate that...”

Adding fuel to the moment: Lamar had given Serena a lyrical shoutout in the Grammy-winning track, warning Drake that he “better not speak on Serena” in their ongoing rap feud.

“Surprise!” Showing up for Sharapova’s Hall of Fame induction

Maria Sharapova and Williams were once the "fiercest of rivals." They faced each other 22 times beginning in 2004, battling for major titles and Olympic medals, with Williams owning a dominant 20–2 record. Together, they defined an era of the WTA Tour.

In 2025, they gave fans one more unforgettable moment when Serena made a surprise appearance in Newport, R.I., to introduce her “forever friend” Sharapova during the Russian’s induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Read More: "Surprise!" Serena Williams introduces Maria Sharapova at International Tennis Hall of Fame induction ceremony

“I know I’m probably the last person you would be expecting to see here tonight!” Serena said during her speech.

“To the world, we looked miles and miles apart. The truth is, we weren’t. We wanted the exact same thing at the exact same time: to be the very best…

"There are only a few players in my career who challenged me to be my very best every time we stepped out onto the court. Maria Sharapova was one of them.”

Joining the ITIA testing pool, and sending fans into a frenzy

Serena sent the tennis world into a spiral when fans noticed her name had been added to the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s International Registered Testing Pool. She had reportedly requested the reinstatement as early as October—a move widely interpreted as her first step toward a potential comeback.

Let the speculation begin. Would she enter mixed doubles at the US Open? Was she eyeing a run at a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title against the likes of Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Gauff?

The frenzy didn’t last long. Serena shut down the rumors later that day on X, writing, “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy…”