Despite Serena Williams' Help During Pregnancy There Was No Friendship Admits Taylor Townsend

“I went over to her house and she put a whole Amazon list together for me of all the things that I needed to get for the baby, and like those times were, that was the most conversation I had ever had with her," she added.

Despite this touching memory, Townsend admitted that she never truly developed a friendship with Serena or Venus Williams, even though she admired them throughout her career. For them, competition was always at the forefront.

“It’s honestly surreal for me. It was really cool, especially being able to experience that here. Venus and Serena, you know, I’ve looked up to them for years. But even for so many years on tour, it was never like a friendship. It was, ‘I’m out here and you’re another piece of competition. If I got to take you, I gotta take you out.’”

Townsend explained that this was part of the culture in tennis—where respect and admiration coexist with fierce rivalry. “There’s an aura where it’s like, when we in this arena, we ain’t friends with buddies, and it’s no faking the funk, you know what I’m saying,” she added.

Still, for Townsend, being able to share the court with Serena and Venus remains one of the most meaningful experiences of her career. Her reflections highlight both the distance and the deep respect that can exist between competitors at the highest level of the sport.