"Had been talking about her and Maria Sharapova going back and forth" - When Drake claimed Serena Williams' rivalry with the Russian inspired his song
Famed rapper Drake once claimed that one of his diss tracks was inspired by Serena Williams' rivalry with Maria Sharapova.
The Canadian, who is rumored to have dated Williams in the past, released two diss tracks named "Charged Up" and "Back to Back" in 2015. While both songs were aimed at fellow rapper Meek Mill, the latter was supposedly inspired in part by the 23-time Grand Slam champion's rivalry with Sharapova.
Drake discussed his diss tracks while appearing on the Rap Radar podcast in 2019. Speaking about "Back to Back", the Canadian claimed that he wanted to make another track after "Charged Up".
"And then I'd made the decision that I was gonna to go again. I remember I was working on some beat, I think it was a boy wonder beat or something, and it was kind of more like 'rappy.' It was gonna be another 100 bar thing," Drake said.
The rapper further said he was with Serena Williams back then and that the two spoke a lot about the American's rivalry with Maria Sharapova. Drake also stated that Williams encouraged him to finish his second song, which was released on July 29, 2015.
"I was with Serena at the time. And we had been talking a lot about her and [Maria] Sharapova going back and forth over the years. And she had made this comment to me and she was like: 'Well look, if you're gonna go again, you gotta finish it,'" Drake said.
"You know, she's a top competitor, so she was like: 'You gotta finish it. I'm talking about done. Over. And it's gotta be something that everyone (Meek) is with and him have to hear. You can't do some s*** for the moment and then it goes away,'" he added.
Serena Williams led 20-2 in her head-to-head with Maria Sharapova
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova squared off in 22 matches, with the American winning 20 of them.
Sharapova had an edge the initial stages of the rivalry, leading 2-1 by the end of the 2004 season. The Russian beat Williams in two finals that year, at Wimbledon and the WTA Tour Championships. However, the American won the next 19 matches between the two.
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova met in four Grand Slam finals, with the former winning three of them. The last encounter between the two came in the first round of the 2019 US Open, where Williams won 6-1, 6-1.