Serena Williams On Meghan Markle’s Support: ‘She’s Always Positive No Matter What’

Following her loss to Simona Halep at the Wimbledon final on Saturday, Serena Williams opened up about the deep gratitude she has for her longtime friend Meghan Markle, who has supported the tennis legend over the years.

Williams responded to a reporter’s question on how she felt about the Duchess of Sussex attending the women’s singles final during a press conference after the big event, by discussing their years of friendship. 

“Just having her in general as a friend is great,” Williams said. “She’s such a great friend and a great person as well, and always positive no matter what.”

She continued, “It’s so good to have people like that … and she’s such a fan of the sport. And she too is happy for Simona. She saw that she played unbelievable, and that’s just the kind of person that she is.”

Meghan also made a surprise appearance at the tournament last week to support Williams, who is a global adviser to Verizon Media, HuffPost’s parent company.

Williams, who co-hosted Meghan’s baby shower, has also publicly shared her support for the royal on numerous occasions.

Last year, the tennis superstar congratulated the Duchess of Sussex for her collaboration on “Together: Our Community Kitchen,” a community charity cookbook that includes recipes and stories from women representing different cultures. 

“I used to call you Meghan (and I still do) but dear Duchess of Sussex your first project ‘Together’ a cookbook bringing women of all cultures together. I could not be more excited about it and proud of you,” Williams wrote on Instagram at the time. 

Williams fell short in her bid on Saturday to win 24 Grand Slam singles titles, a record currently held by Margaret Court. The tennis superstar congratulated Halep for her win on Center Court after the match. 

“She literally played out of her mind, congratulations Simona,” Williams told a reporter.