"You’ve got to be who you are, Meghan, you can’t hide"- Serena Williams denies Meghan Markle's friendship claims

Serena Williams has said that Meghan Markle is merely an acquaintance of hers, after the latter put the 23-time Grand Slam champion on her list of friends in an interview with Vanity Fair's Sam Kashner.

When Kashner reached out to the people Markle called her friends, the 40-year-old denied any claims of friendship.

“You’ve got to be who you are, Meghan. You can’t hide," Serena Williams said.

Williams' words came to light in Tom Bower's biography on Markle, which is titled 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors'.

Published by Blink Publishing, the book is scheduled to be released on July 21.

---

How has Serena Williams' season gone so far?

Serena Williams will compete at the National Bank Open in Toronto

Serena Williams' hiatus from tennis ended during the grasscourt season as she took part in two tournaments. The American returned to action at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, receiving a wildcard for the women's doubles tournament.

With Ons Jabeur as her partner, Williams reached the semifinals of the competition with wins over Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo, and Shuko Aoyama and Hao-Ching Chan. The pair were set to play Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette in the last four but were forced to pull out after Jabeur suffered an injury.

The 40-year-old then competed at Wimbledon as a wildcard, facing France's Harmony Tan in the opening round. The Frenchwoman won the opening set 7-5 before Williams responded in dominant fashion by taking the second set 6-1.

A tightly contested third set went to a tiebreak, which Tan won 10-7 to eliminate Williams and book her place in the second round.

The 23-time Major winner is set to compete at the prestigious National Bank Open in Toronto next using her protected ranking.

Williams has won the National Bank Open thrice — in 2001, 2011 and 2013. Her last participation in the WTA 1000 competition came in 2019, where she retired in the final against Bianca Andreescu due to a back injury.

While she is among the favorites to win the National Bank Open, her experience and mentality should help her do well.