She was in the city of kings and queens. People were sipping champagne and eating strawberries and cream. And Serena Williams had just ascended to the throne of tennis, becoming the second woman after Steffi Graf to win all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold in singles.

Over the previous 63 minutes on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon, Williams had absolutely obliterated the Russian superstar Maria Sharapova. She’d death-stared down the blonde, leggy Barbie doll, sending lasers down the line, making Sharapova lunge all over the court, hitting left when Sharapova was running right, and then, with a 120-mph ace, secured her Golden Slam and her place in history.

Then the 30-year-old who will end her career as one of the greatest tennis players of all time did something that could be interpreted two ways: As a stupid and insensitive celebration that dampened the crowning moment, or as a joy-filled nod to her roots.

The woman who grew up in Compton did the Crip Walk.

For the uninitiated, the Crip Walk is a funky little hip-hop dance move made famous by Crip gang members in Compton in the 1970s.

And there was Serena — the tennis legend, the winner of 14 individual Grand Slams, the best player of her generation, the American girl being crowned at the All-England Club as the queen of tennis — Crip-Walking all over the most lily-white place in the world.