Are Tiger Woods and Serena Williams friends?
Tiger Woods is widely considered the best golfer of all time. He's got incredible records, some of the most impressive performances, despite dealing with rampant health issues over the last few years.
Serena Williams is also widely considered the best in her sport, tennis. She is one of the most decorated tennis players and will be remembered as an all-time great.
She recently announced a decision to retire after the US Open this year. That event is currently going on, and she upset the world number two tennis player, Annet Kontaveit, en route to the third round, in what will be her final opportunity for a win.
Woods was seen in the stands, cheering on his fellow athlete in one of the last times anyone will be able to attend a Serena Williams match. He was spotted in the stands next to Williams' sister, Venus.
This begs the question of whether the two are friends or if Woods was simply there to support an iconic athlete in her final days.
Tiger Woods supports tennis GOAT Serena Williams at US Open
Both Tiger Woods and Serena Williams are friends. When Williams was initially considering retiring from tennis, she consulted the golfer. She told Vogue magazine:
"I said, 'I don't know what to do: I think I'm over it, but maybe I'm not over [tennis],'. He's Tiger, and he was adamant that I be a beast the same way he is! He said, 'Serena, what if you just gave it two weeks? You don't have to commit to anything. You just go out on the court every day for two weeks and give it your all and see what happens.' I said, 'All right, I think I can do that.' "
She waited a month before acting on his advice. According to the star player, what her friend said rang true. Williams added,
"I was good. I was really good. I went back and forth about whether to play Wimbledon, and the US Open after that. As I've said, this whole evolution thing has not been easy for me."
After her iconic win over Kontaveit, she credited Woods, who had been in the stands giving her his iconic fist pump in celebration, calling him one of the main reasons she is still playing.
After the match, Woods congratulated her on Twitter, where the tennis star's victory was the talk of the town.
It was a privilege to watch greatness. Congrats @serenawilliams
Williams also admitted that the two athletes share more than a passing relationship and that they talked a lot during her preparation for the match:
"We talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated.''
Williams further said,
"I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was just lost. So many questions. When you can rely on someone like that — I mean, my goodness, he's Tiger Woods — it was really helpful to get clarity.''
These two athletes will undoubtedly go down in history as perhaps the greatest in their respective sports (it's challenging to name a singular most outstanding athlete in any sport). Nonetheless, Woods and Williams will be remembered for having one of sports' most unique friendships.