Think You Know Serena Williams? 7 Fun Facts That Prove She's a Legend on and Off the Court

Serena and the Duchess of Sussex first met at a Super Bowl party in Miami back in 2010, where they became fast friends. Since then, Serena has attended Meghan’s May 2018 wedding and helped organize her New York City baby shower in February 2019. Meghan, in turn, has supported Serena in the Wimbledon finals for the past two years, and Meghan even flew to New York to attend the 2019 US Open final in September, which was her first time traveling solo after having baby Archie in May 2019.

When asked about her friendship with Meghan during a November 2019 interview with Access Hollywood, Serena replied, “She flew all the way with a newborn to see me play in New York and flew all the way back that night, and I probably couldn’t have done that. It just kind of goes to show you what an amazing person that she is, and that’s just one of the many things that she does for me.”

Serena doesn’t often speak about her faith, but ahead of her daughter’s first birthday, she explained why she wouldn’t be throwing a celebration. “We’re Jehovah’s Witnesses, so we don’t do that,” she told reporters at a US Open press conference. Serena and Venus converted in the early ’80s after their mother Oracene Price did, and though Serena celebrates her achievements on the court, Jehovah’s Witnesses refrain from celebrating holidays and birthdays.

Since marrying Alexis, Serena has worked harder to dedicate herself to her faith, though her husband is not religious himself. “Being a Jehovah’s Witness is important to me, but I’ve never really practiced it and have been wanting to get into it,” she explained to Vogue in August 2017, later adding, “Alexis didn’t grow up going to any church, but he’s really receptive and even takes the lead. He puts my needs first.”

Serena and her sister Venus began training at the Rick Macci Tennis Academy in Florida in 1991, but in 1995 their father Richard (who, at the time, had little tennis coaching or playing experience) decided to pull them out of the academy to coach them himself. Serena credits her father for helping her and Venus build their foundation and establish their careers.

“Everyone who in the past may have said my dad wasn’t a good coach, obviously the results spoke for themselves between myself and Venus,” she said during a press conference in September 2013. “He’s just so innovative, and I think one of the reasons I’m still playing some of the best tennis at 30 is because he built my game and my sister’s game.”

In January 2017, Serena famously defeated Venus in the Australian Open, marking her seventh Australian Open title and 23rd Grand Slam title overall. Even more amazingly, the tennis star found out she was expecting right before the tournament. As she explained to Vanity Fair in June 2017, she’d been feeling a bit off, and she took a test just to shut down her friend Jessica Steindorff’s suspicions that she was pregnant. After six positive tests, Serena was finally convinced.

She recalled saying, “Oh my God, this can’t be – I’ve got to play a tournament. How am I going to play the Australian Open? I had planned on winning Wimbledon this year.” And though she couldn’t compete at Wimbledon, she still went on to win the Australian Open.