Serena Williams says Meghan Markle is a 'great friend' after Wimbledon loss
The duchess turned up not just at the final but also at the second round match earlier in July.
(Photos: AFP/Ben Stansall and Glyn Kirk)
Sometimes, you just need one “great friend” to stand by you through wins and losses – something that tennis star Serena Williams, 37, had in the form of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, when she lost at Saturday’s (Jul 13) 2019 Wimbledon women’s singles final.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion was beaten by 27-year-old Simona Halep, the first Romanian to capture the title.
READ:Â Wait goes on for Williams as inspired Halep wins Wimbledon
"Just having her in general as a friend is great," Williams said in Eonline. "She's such a great friend and a great person as well, and always positive, no matter what. So, it's so good to have people like that just to know."
"She's such a fan of the sport and she too is happy for Simona," Williams continued. "She saw that she played unbelievable and that's just the kind of person that she is."
Markle was with sister-in-law Kate Middleton and the Duchess of Cambridge's sister Pippa Middleton. The duchesses watched the match from the Royal Box at Centre Court, marking the first joint solo outing for them in a year.
Williams’s BFF had also cheered her on earlier in July at the women’s singles second round match against Slovakia’s Kaja Juvan. It marked Markle’s first solo outing since having her first baby with husband Prince Harry. Her son Archie Harrison is now two months old.
Markle and Williams knew each other since 2014 when they met at Celebrity Beach Bowl, a TV show with celebrities and retired football greats playing football on the beach. "We hit it off immediately," Markle had written on her now-defunct lifestyle website The Tig. "Taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff."
The tennis star has also got her royal friend’s back when it comes to negative press. At her BFF’s match against Juvan, Markle had drawn criticism after rumours spread that she had asked her protection officers to tell spectators not to take her picture because she was at the tournament "in a private capacity".
"Any time I see her name attached to anything, I don't read it," Williams told reporters at Wimbledon. "She couldn't be a better friend to me. Low moments, high moments – she's always there. That's all I want to be to her."
