"It's like, it's the creme de la creme" - Serena Williams on featuring in Super Bowl commercial

In a recent interview with USA Today, Serena Williams spoke at length about her new Super Bowl commercial. The American claimed that athletes have a certain "vision board" for themselves when it comes to making public appearances, and that a Super Bowl commercial is right at the top of that board.

"Well, growing up as an athlete, it's like, it's the creme de la creme," Williams said. "You have a vision board, [being in a Super Bowl commercial] is like first on the board."

The full commercial is not out yet, but Williams recently gave a sneak peek of the clip on her Instagram handle. Along with the 40-year-old, the likes of football quarterback Peyton Manning, golfer Brooks Koepka, basketball player Jimmy Butler, soccer star Alex Morgan, singer Becky G and renowned actor Steve Buscemi can also be seen in the commercial.

The scene is set at a bowling alley, where everybody looks stunned at the grand entrance of Serena Williams. After taking one look at the 23-time Slam champion, Buscemi says it's "game time".

Williams showered praise on Buscemi during the interview, mentioning that she has regularly followed his work since the release of his movie 'Twenty Bucks'.

"I've watched a lot of Steve's work," Williams said. "Obviously 'Fargo' was a big one, but there was this movie called 'Twenty Bucks' that not many people have heard of. That's actually when I first started watching Steve and I've been watching him ever since."

The full commercial featuring Serena Williams and the rest of the stars will be broadcast during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday.

Serena Williams says she is "back to training" as comeback to the tour looms

Serena Williams at the French Open 2021

Serena Williams hasn't played professional tennis for more than seven months now, having injured her leg at Wimbledon last year. Williams last won a Major in 2017, and has been chasing a record-leveling 24th Grand Slam ever since.

During the course of the USA Today interview, the American gave an update on her fitness status and expressed excitement about having gotten back to the practice court. But she emphasized that before moving to more intensive play, she would want to get her body and muscles used to normal "tennis training".

Serena Williams at the French Open 2021

"I'm back to training, which is exciting," Williams said. "So I'm just trying to make sure I'm getting a little more fit training-wise, just getting my body and my muscles used to the tennis training, because that's totally different from just regular training. And then see what happens, no pressure."

Serena Williams' comeback date has not yet been confirmed, but many expect her to play either Indian Wells or Miami next month.