Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion who recently said “the countdown is on” to her retirement, recounted on Meghan Archetypes’ Spotify podcast Tuesday about a match she played at the 2018 French Open. She had a nearly sleepless night after the her daughter Olympia broke her wrist. “Somehow I managed to win, but I was so emotionally drained that it was, it was crazy. And, you know, and then, like every night after that, I was with her the whole time and I was like are you going to be with me,” said Williams, who said her final tournament will be the US Open, which starts in New York next week. The tennis great and Meghan, who are friends, have spoken at length about the challenges of balancing high-profile careers in the public eye and motherhood. “So when you go and play that match the next morning, nobody knows what your night was like the night before. They forget that human part of it,” Megan said of Williams’ French Open experience. Serena Williams plays at the 2018 French Open on June 2, 2018 in Paris. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Meghan recounted an incident during a tour of South Africa with her husband Prince Harry and their son Archie, in which a fire broke out in her son’s room and the couple had to leave their baby to continue their official duties . Archie was supposed to be sleeping in the room at the time, but his nanny had taken him out to get something to eat. The incident scared everyone, Megan said. She wanted to spend time with her son, but she and Harry had to go and have another official engagement, she said. “The focus comes down to how it looks instead of how it feels,” Meghan said. “And part of humanizing and breaking down these labels and these archetypes and these boxes that we’ve put in place is understanding the human moments behind the scenes that people might not be aware of and giving each other a break. “Because we did — we had to leave our baby,” she said.
Williams Talks Retirement and Personal ‘Evolution’
Williams, who turns 41 next month, spoke to Meghan about her recent announcement to retire from tennis. Williams said she discussed it with Prince Harry before revealing her decision publicly. “Obviously I’m retiring professionally, but it’s also an evolution. I’m doing more professional things. And I really want to expand my family. And, you know, I’ve put it off for so long. And as a woman, it only exists for as long as you can you procrastinate,” Williams said. Harry and Meghan have a multi-year deal to produce and host podcasts for Spotify under their production company Archewell Audio. Megan said the Archetypes podcast will focus on harmful labels and stereotypes applied to women. The Spotify deal is one of several high-profile deals the pair have struck, including one with Netflix. Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal duties in March 2020 over the British media’s intrusions and racist attitudes towards the duchess. They have since moved to California, where they are raising their children, Archie and Lily.
