Meghan Markle’s surprising Serena Williams reveal

Meghan Markle has revealed Serena Williams was at the centre of misleading news reports that questioned her engagement with Prince Harry.

Meghan Markle has revealed that she was once confused with Serena Williams.

On the first episode of the Duchess of Sussex’s new podcast “Archetypes,” she discussed misleading media reports with her guest, the real Serena Williams, The New York Post reports.

Markle, 41, was newly engaged to Prince Harry, 37, in 2017, at which point reports circulated that the royal would be walking down the aisle with a bride “straight outta Compton,” California.

“This morning, I was saying to Harry: ‘Do you remember when they said, ‘Harry’s girl is straight outta Compton?’ I was like, ‘are they talking about Serena?’ ” Markle joked.

“I’m like, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton, my mum doesn’t live in Compton, but by the way, what’s wrong with Compton? My girl Serena’s from there,” she continued.

Serena Williams says goodbye to Toronto. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images/AFP.

On the heels of her recent retirement announcement, the 40-year-old tennis star laughed at the mix-up, saying she’s “so proud” to be from Compton, and shared that there are other well-known celebrities from Compton, including Kevin Costner.

“Oh my gosh, that’s wild,” the “Suits” star responded.

“He even talks about it — isn’t it fascinating?” said Williams.

Markle clarified that she did grow up in the Los Angeles area, but “I can’t claim Compton,” she said.

Serena Williams and Meghan Markle. Photo: Vaughn Ridley for Getty/AFP, supplied.

The two mainly discussed their thoughts around ambition — particularly being ambitious women, which was the main theme of the episode.

Markle also shared a wild story about how her son Archie’s bedroom caught fire while they were in the middle of a royal engagement during their 2019 South Africa tour.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion also revealed she won a match at the French Open in 2018 the day after a sleepless night she spent following an incident where her daughter, Olympia, broke her wrist.

“I somehow managed to win, but I was so emotionally spent and just like so emotionally drained that it was, it was crazy,” she said

“And, you know, and then like every night after that, I just was with her the whole time and was like you’re going to be with me.

Markle was stunned by Williams’ story.

“So when you went and played that match the next morning, no one knew what your night had been like the night before,” she said.

“They forgot that human piece of it.”

Williams announced earlier this month that the US Open, beginning Tuesday August 30 (AEDT), will be her final event before she officially retires.

Williams said she even discussed her retirement plans with Prince Harry before she announced it to the world.

“Obviously I’m retiring professionally, but it’s also an evolution,” she said on the podcast.

“I’m doing more business things. And I really want to expand my family. And, you know, I’ve been putting it off for so long. And as a woman, there’s only so, so long you can put that off.”

Williams has won 23 grand slam titles — the most in the Open Era and one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.

— This story originally appeared on nypost.com and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Meghan Markle’s surprising Serena Williams reveal