Canadian rapper Drake has seemingly thrown fresh fuel on the smouldering embers of his long-standing feud with former girlfriend Serena Williams, using a subtle Instagram manoeuvre to send fans into a frenzy.
The Provocative Post
On Monday, the 'Hotline Bling' artist shared a series of tennis-themed photographs on his Instagram, posing alongside fellow musician Sexyy Red. Drake captioned the post: 'I said tennis lesson she said where’s the bracelet or the necklace'.
While the images themselves raised eyebrows, it was Drake's activity in the comments section that truly ignited the controversy. Eagle-eyed followers quickly noticed that Drake had liked a comment from a user which stated: 'Serena Williams upgrade [fire emojis]'.
A History of Subtle Jabs
This incident marks just the latest exchange in a series of subtle digs between the former couple, who dated from 2011 to 2015. The tension between them has been particularly palpable in recent years.
Perhaps the most significant recent escalation occurred earlier this year when Williams made a surprise appearance during Kendrick Lamar's 2025 Super Bowl performance. The tennis legend was seen Crip-walking to Lamar's track 'Not Like Us' - a song widely recognised as a diss track aimed squarely at Drake.
Williams later compounded the jab during her hosting duties at the 2024 ESPYS, where she told the audience: '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.'
She added a pointed remark about Drake's courtside appearances at Toronto Raptors games, suggesting he might receive a 'Forrest Gump' style rejection.
Drake's Pattern of Responses
Drake has not been passive in this exchange of barbs. Following Williams' Super Bowl cameo, the rapper posted a photograph on his private Instagram account featuring himself with Williams' former agent, Jill Smoller.
The image was taken in 2015 when Drake attended Wimbledon to watch Williams compete. He chose not to add a caption, allowing the image to speak for itself.
This pattern of musical and social media references stretches back years. In 2016, Drake released the track 'Too Good', which contained lyrics that many interpreted as a reference to the tennis champion: 'I'm too good to you/ I'm way too good to you/ You take my love for granted/ I just don't understand it.'
More recently, his 2022 song 'Middle of the Ocean' appeared to contain a veiled reference to Williams' husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
With both figures continuing to occupy global spotlight positions in their respective fields, this long-running feud shows no signs of a ceasefire, playing out through carefully calculated social media gestures and artistic references that keep fans constantly watching for the next development.
