Tennis champ Serena Williams obviously didn't plan on being caught by the snapper's lens, or she probably wouldn't have chosen to be photographed while wearing a ropey old laddered pair of tights.

Just what misfortune had befallen Serena to cause such a catastrophic effect to her leg garment was unclear.

And as she hurried into her hotel, with her head down, she clearly looked embarrassed at being caught in a state of disrepair.

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Tights unfit: Tennis champ Serena Williams appears to have had a tights malfunction as she is seen out on in London last night with her new beau, rapper Common,

Holey moley: It's unclear just what mishap befell tennis champ Serena resulting in the holey knees she displayed on a night out

Glam: Serena looks stylish and glamorous at the launch event for sister Venus' clothing line in New York recently

But her normally slick look was ruined by the highly-visible ladders which, unfortunately, started at the knee of her black opaque tights.

It appears that Serena and Grammy award nominee Common, 35, who has duetted with singer Lily Allen, and appears in new Denzel Washington film American Gangster, are an item.

The pair - who appeared together in Common's latest video I Want You - were spotted holding hands recently and getting "very close" at a party hosted for her sister Venus Williams, to celebrate the launch of her clothing line 'Eleven', at popular New York nighclub Tenjune.

A source revealed that the couple were sitting together the whole night and didn't try to conceal their growing closeness.

"They were very friendly, arm-in-arm. All night they were sitting together," a source told the New York Post.

"I asked a friend of his and was told they are dating," the source added.

Serena Williams previously dated director Brett Ratner, but the romance came to an abrupt end after he spent a week partying in New York with Sean 'P Diddy' Combs, Jay-Z And Jermaine Dupri, and she became frustrated with Ratner always being away from her.

Serena and sister Venus will team up to play doubles at the Australian Open in January, organisers said.

The pair have not played doubles at the Australian Open since they won the title for the second time in three years in 2003.