Meghan Markle Blows-Off Serena Williams’ At Star-Studded US Open Sendoff

Had Markle shown up to support her friend, she would have joined the likes of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, Hugh Jackman, Rebel Wilson, Anthony Anderson, Katie Couric, Matt Damon, Gayle King, Mike Tyson, Martina Navratilova, and Lindsey Vonn. Even mayor, Eric Adams, was spotted cheering Williams on.

“It was like the Oscars seeing all the starts inside the stadium. Serena was thrilled to see so many friends show up to wish her goodbye,” added a pal. “Although, it would have been nice to see Meghan. When she needed a guest for her debut podcast, Serena dropped everything for her.”

But with Serena’s four-year-old little princess, Olympia, shouting for her mom while eating a lollipop and playing with dad Alexis Ohanian in the player’s box, who needs a Duchess?

Earlier this month, Williams announced she was retiring from playing professional tennis. “I have never liked the word retirement,” she wrote. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

“I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair,” Williams added. “If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”

Markle missing the US Open comes only weeks after Williams taped the first episode of the Duchess’ new Spotify podcast, Archetypes.