Serena Williams would “definitely agree” that she and close friend Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, are two of the most closely-scrutinized women in the world.
Now Williams, 36, is revealing how she and Meghan, 37, are supporting each other in the spotlight.
“We were actually just texting each other this morning,” Williams said in a new interview with Australian news program “The Project" that was filmed just three days after Williams' emotional and dramatic loss in the U.S. Open final.
“We have known each other for a long time but we really kind of are relying on each other a lot recently," she added.
Williams and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, were two of the high-profile celebrities who attended Meghan’s wedding to Prince Harry in May.
Williams called the wedding at St. George's Chapel, which featured a gospel choir and an African-American minister who delivered a show-stopping sermon, a “monumental moment.”
“I felt like we were literally watching history and I feel like in a few years when I look back at that moment and it’s just going to be historic,” she said. “It’s going to be something that people never forget.”
She added, “The whole service was really wonderful. Most of all I just really wanted to see my friend be happy and I think that’s what happened.”
Duchess Meghan showed up to support Williams at the Wimbledon final in July. Just before the start of Wimbledon, Williams and Ohanian joined Meghan to watch Prince Harry play polo.
When Meghan launched a cookbook this month -- her first major charitable initiative since joining the royal family -- it was Williams who very publicly supported her friend.
"I could not be more excited about it and proud of you," she posted on social media.
Williams has reached the finals of two Grand Slam tournaments since giving birth to her first child, daughter Olympia.
Williams opened up in her interview with "The Project" about how it has been "really tough" to return to tennis full-time since giving birth to Olympia last September. She described herself as "really excelling" at some aspects of motherhood and feeling "like a fish out of water" in others.
"Sometimes I go out to play my matches and I’m leaving my daughter and it’s heart wrenching to walk out that door and she’s crying and she’s upset because she misses me," Williams said. "We’re really close and that’s not always easy."