Serena Williams Reveals She Was Once Accused of Using ‘Witchcraft’ and ‘Black Magic’ to Win Matches

The tennis icon shared the “craziest thing” she had ever heard said about herself while on her and her sister Venus Williams’ podcast “Stockton Street”

Serena Williams.Credit : Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Serena Williams is debunking a scary rumor!

The 23-time Grand Slam champion shared on her Stockton Street podcast this week that a former opponent once had a spooky theory about her dominance.

“The craziest thing I ever heard about me was that I did witchcraft, black magic because I was beating some girl a lot,” the retired tennis icon, 44, told her co-host, sister Venus Williams, and their guest Ciara. “And so she claimed that we did black magic to beat her.”

And while Serena did not name the former foe, Venus had her own recollection of what happened behind the scenes.

“From what I understand, someone on her team consulted a black magician to beat you,” Venus, 45, added.

Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova.

When the “1,2 Step” singer opened up about the “craziest thing” that she had ever heard, Ciara shared that she was once told that “you can’t do everything while being a mom” — all of which resonated with Serena, a mother of two.

“It’s as if it’s a negative thing, right?” Serena told Ciara, who has four children, including three whom she shares with New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson. Ciara is also mom to 11-year-old son Future Zahir, whom she shares with rapper Future.

Since Serena has stepped away from tennis, she has made news for taking control of another once-adversary: her weight.

In August, she opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about using a GLP-1 medication to lose more than 30 lbs.

“I feel great,” she told PEOPLE. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”