Serena Williams clearly woke up and chose danger this week — and Instagram felt it.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, the tennis legend dropped a five-slide thirst trap that stopped plenty of thumbs mid-scroll. It looks like Williams traded in her usual sporty glam for an edgy, rocker curve-hugging look that left little room for imagination and even less room for debate.
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Williams slipped into a long, black lace dress that draped all the way to her ankles. Beneath the see-through fabric, she appeared to be rocking nothing but a buttoned black blazer over a single piece of black high-waisted lingerie, leaving fans squinting to see if one structured layer could tame the boldness of everything happening underneath.
In the photos, she posed against a bold black-and-white striped wall, planted on a bright red floor splashed with oversized painted lips in every color — a backdrop that made her outfit look even more intentional, and even harder to ignore.
In one image, Williams glared seductively at a phone while running her fingers through her blond hair, which covered one eye. In the second picture, she leaned into the corner of the wall with one leg propped up, then poked her chest out and pushed her bottom back in the third.
She wrote, “Lace me up and lead the way,” in the caption.
Still, fans seemed far more fixated on Williams’ bold, sassy new look than the glam-squad cameo — her whole vibe stole the spotlight, leaving people wondering what kind of night she and her team were really having.
“OH SERENA WOW,” said one stunned social media user, while another said, “Ouhhh she in her bad gurl era.” “Dammmnnn,” noticed a third.
One person referenced her 23-time Grand Slam wins, writing, “Ma’am, you already won 23 Grand Slams, leave some excellence for the rest of us.”
Others praised the work of Williams’ glam team.
“Please keep this glam team,” one person begged, while another noted, “Some of the best glam pictures of you.”
“That’s Ms. Angela Meadows’ work right there,” added a fifth person.
Williams’ glam squad even popped up in an elevator selfie for the fourth slide, featuring stylist Kesha McLeod and hairstylist Angela Meadows.
McLeod has been shaping the tennis icon’s style for more than 14 years, and Meadows has been behind her hair for well over a decade. The exact moment their glam partnership officially began is a little murky, but Meadows’ receipts go back to 2012 — posting throwback shots and credits from commercial shoots and ad campaigns she says she handled for Williams long before the world caught on.
The one slot Williams switches up most is her makeup artist. For these bold shots, she chose Pauline Briscoe — a longtime favorite who’s been behind many of her standout looks. Williams has worked with several MUAs over the years, including Jai Forbes-Cunningham, Renny Vasquez, and artists from Adjinaya Make Up.
But with Briscoe handling most of her recent glam, fans are already urging her to stick with the team that’s clearly getting it right.
Serena Williams goes viral after working out to get thinner. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/AWTpkb6zJY
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In many ways, Williams feels like she’s stepping into a whole new era. After welcoming two children in the past eight years, fans say they’ve watched her slowly come out of her shell — getting bolder, more playful, and far less worried about fitting into anyone’s expectations.
And when her gym photos went viral earlier this year, sparking a frenzy over her noticeably slimmer frame, Williams dodged the conversation for months until recently. She openly admitted she’d been using weight-loss supplements to drop around 30 pounds, a rare bit of honesty that only fueled more talk about her transformation and the confidence she seems to be reclaiming piece by piece.
