Serena Williams boldly went where a lot of other pregnant women have gone before. The trailblazer on the tennis court followed in the footsteps of Demi Moore — and others including Jessica Simpson, Mariah Carey, Cindy Crawford, and more — by appearing unclothed for the cover of a magazine and showing off her bare baby bump.

Each celebrity before the 35-year-old athlete added their own personal touches to the near commonplace shoot such as a leather jacket, draped sheet, flowers, or unique pose. As for Williams, who’s on the August cover of Vanity Fair, she went with a body chain around her waist, a stupendous ponytail, and her buff body.

In the feature story that accompanies the Annie Leibovitz-lensed photographs, Williams admits, “If you would have told me last year in October or November that I would have a baby, not be pregnant but have a baby, I would have thought you were the biggest liar in the world. This is kind of how I am right now. This is happening sooner than later, and it’s going by so fast.”

However, for someone who said that her pregnancy “just doesn’t seem real,” she surely looks comfortable basking in it.

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