Serena Williams shocked the world when she announced her retirement from tennis. But now, we’re learning more about the Grand Slam champion’s big decision and how royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle played a role in it.
On the premiere episode of Markle’s new podcast series, Archetypes, Williams revealed that she confided in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before deciding to put down the tennis racket for good.
“You [referring to Meghan] knew about it for a long time, and I talked with Harry about it a lot as well,” Williams said on the podcast episode.
Markle chimed in and said, “I remember that day you were here at the house. And I was like, ‘What are you two just chatting about?’ It must’ve been a solid, like, an hour.”
Now, we all know that Markle and Harry have made their fair share of large decisions. From giving up their royal titles to completely stepping away from the royal family, Markle acknowledged that doing the right thing isn’t always easy.
“The three of us really know that sometimes the right decision isn’t the easiest decision,” the duchess said. “It’s a hard decision. And it takes a lot of thought and a lot of counsel and a lot of support to just go ‘uh, uh, uh’ and then just make the choice.”
Though the decision wasn’t easy for Williams to make, she sent the royal couple a copy of the Vogue article (announcing her retirement) and thanked them for all their support. “I wanted you to understand what it meant to have your support and for H’s support—for everything.”
The famous tennis star later posted the September issue on her Instagram page and wrote a heartfelt message that read, “There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness, do I enjoy tennis.”
“But now, the countdown has begun,” she continued, referring to her final U.S. Open. “I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena. I'm gonna relish these next few weeks.”
Oh, to be a fly on the wall for those Serena, Meghan and Harry chats.
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