It’s been a busy few weeks of play at Wimbledon, and the women’s matches continued wrapping up on Saturday with the singles final. Ultimately, Serena Williams lost the match to Simona Halep of Romania 6-2, 6-2. There to support Williams through the tough rounds of play? None other than the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, one of her very good friends (reportedly, Williams helped organized her baby shower in New York).
Markle wasn’t watching alone, either: Both Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and Kate Middleton’s sister Pippa Middleton were there—the first time the three have been seen hanging out together at Wimbledon. (And looking chic doing it, of course.) Time flies, but it’s been a year since Wimbledon marked the first time Kate Middleton and Markle had hung out in public together.
After the match, Williams opened up about what having Markle in the stands meant to her as she was sweating it out on the court below. During a post-match press conference, she said that having the duchess’s support was “great.” “She’s such a great friend and a great person as well. And always positive, no matter what,” Williams said, according to People.
“It’s so good to have people like that, just to know,” Williams continued, and added that Markle is “such a fan of the sport.”
Williams and Halep both got a shoutout from the royals after the match, too:
“Well done to Serena Williams and Simona Halep on a fantastic match, and congratulations Simona on your first Wimbledon title!” Kensington Palace captioned an Instagram post featuring a gallery of the royals at the match. (Kate Middleton had taken some time to meet some junior players earlier in the day.)
It’s sweet that the two make time to be there for each other’s biggest moments—and have each other’s backs, win or lose. Watch the whole interview here:
