Serena Williams was supposed to play in the Italian Open this week but she ended up pulling out of the tournament as her coach says they need more time to prep for the French Open at the end of the month. Which, conveniently, frees up her weekend. And, well, we all know she’s friends with Meghan Markle. When Robin Roberts asked her last month if she was going to the wedding, Serena didn’t give a straight answer – at 3:30 of the video below:
Since I’m on the road, I’ve not caught up on Serena’s HBO docuseries, Being Serena, but there’s a part in this week’s episode that aired last night that, curiously, lines up with Meghan’s experience. Serena revealed that, at the last minute, her father also backed out of walking her down the aisle. Per Vogue, Richard Williams texted Serena an hour before the ceremony to let her know:
He was in New Orleans, he had a suit, and I know he was really excited,” says Serena in a voiceover. “But then he wrote me and said: Serena, I don’t want you to be mad at me, but I just can’t walk you down the aisle. I’m not myself anymore. I’m just too nervous.”
She quickly wrote back: “Daddy, it’s okay, if you don’t want to come to the wedding at all, that’s okay too. I’m not going to be upset with you about it, so I don’t want you to be upset about it.” She goes on to say: “Maybe a lot of daughters wouldn’t react the same way, but I know the struggles he’s had these last few years. His health is better now, but I know he still doesn’t feel like himself, doesn’t feel like he’s perfect. And if he doesn’t want to be up there in front of a lot of people, I completely understand. Look, when we first came on the scene, there were a lot of people who didn’t get him. I don’t think a lot of them wanted to get him. I don’t think a lot of him could have anyway. Our family knows what we have. We just want each other to be happy. That’s what matters. I don’t think anything could ever change that.”
If there’s anyone who might understand what Meghan’s experiencing, it could be Serena. So will we see Serena in Windsor on Saturday? F-ck I hope so. You remember those gross headlines in the British papers about Meghan being “(almost) straight outta Compton”? Well Serena actually is from Compton. And she went on to the be the Greatest Of All Time. There would be some satisfaction then for the GOAT from Compton to be there in person to see her friend, who’s also “(almost) straight outta Compton”, become a princess at Windsor Castle, with a gospel choir singing her down the aisle, non? Accompanied or alone?
As I wrote yesterday, I hope she goes it alone. I like the impact of that visual. But this is now the big question, per my previous post, along with the dress. If the palace doesn’t update us on who will be walking Meghan down the aisle – and I kinda hope they don’t – it’ll be two “stay tuned!” moments, back to back. Always makes for a good show.
