Serena Williams has her friend’s back! The tennis superstar reportedly refused to answer a question about her BFF Meghan Markle’s recent decision to step back as a senior member of the royal family when questioned by a reporter on Monday.
Serena was competing in the Australian Open and was answering questions after a match when the topic shifted from the game to Meghan. New York Times reporter Ben Rothenberg tweeted about the interaction, where he said a fellow reporter asked Serena if she had spoken to either Harry or Meghan since the couple’s “extraordinary and historic” move.
#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/KUVAUzcso6
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 20, 2020
“Yeah, I have absolutely no comments on anything with that,” the 38-year-old reportedly answered. And though Serena’s lips were sealed on anything royal related, the superstar added, “But good try. You tried. You did good.”
The Duchess of Sussex and Serena have been friends for years; the tennis player attended Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry, and Meghan has supported Serena at numerous tennis matches in New York and London, including attending her Wimbledon match this past year. Meghan sat in the royal box at Wimbledon alongside Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa.
The question came just days after the Queen announced how the royal couple’s exit as official representatives would proceed. In a statement on Jan. 18, Queen Elizabeth announced that the family has “found a constructive and supportive way forward” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their 8-month-old son, Archie, after “many months of conversations and more recent discussions.”
And just last night, Harry revealed that he and Meghan had wanted to continue working for the royal family without public funding, but that it simply “wasn’t possible.” The 35-year-old Prince told guests at a charity dinner that it brought him “great sadness that it has come to this,” as he will have to step away from his official roles.
Reports say Prince Harry plans on concluding his official royal meetings and will reunite with Meghan and Archie in the near future.