It’s a big week for Serena Williams, who begins her quest for another U.S. Open title this week in New York.
But even though she doesn’t hit the court until Tuesday, the tennis champ — and style influencer — has been on the move in the Big Apple. On Sunday, she introduced her friend Beyoncé at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
The songstress, one of Nike‘s longtime athletes, also hit Niketown to take part in a pre-U.S. Open event. The brand brought in kids from all over the city and hundreds more fans for the festivities, which featured a conversation between Williams and comedian J.B. Smoove. Another highlight was a taco competition, during which three lucky kids cooked up Williams’ favorite food as she cheered them on.
![Serena Williams J.B. Smoove Niketown](https://footwearnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/serena-williams-jb-smoove-niketown.jpg)
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Here are four things we learned about Williams that you might not know.
1. Her prematch tunes sometimes include pop hits (likely from Drake, Beyoncé and other famous friends). But Williams loves to get into the groove with ’80s music — and her go-to artist is Irene Cara, who’s best known for her role in “Fame.”
2. The frequent traveler has one dream seat mate who she would like to sit next to on a plane: “Jesus, hands down.”
3. She is pretty confident in her running skills. After starring with comedian Kevin Hart in a series of short videos airing on social media to promote the Nike+ Training Club, Williams boasted that she “definitely would have won” a sprint competition. “He was smart enough not to challenge me,” she joked.
![Serena Williams & Kevin Hart](https://footwearnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/nike-serena-williams-kevin-hart-2.jpg)