Queen Elizabeth once made an appearance at Wimbledon in 2010. The world’s best tennis players were preparing for the special occasion. Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, promised Queen Elizabeth a curtsy.
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Some of the greatest tennis players, including Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King, as well as the 23-time Grand Slam singles title winner, Serena Williams, and Swiss tennis player, Roger Federer, were there for the occasion. The queen greeted a lineup of these tennis legends before she entered the royal box at Center Court.
Serena Williams once promised Queen Elizabeth a curtsy
The queen attended the Wimbledon match between Britain’s Andy Murray and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen. The American tennis legend, Serena Williams was well rehearsed for her curtsy before the queen. She even took a day off to perfect her curtsy.
Williams said, “I was going to curtsy today on the court afterwards but I think I flubbed it. So I am definitely going to work on it a little bit more. I’m trying to tone down my wrist action.”
She also promised that her curtsy would be a lot of fun, as she stated, “My curtsy is really fun. It’s something that she’ll never forget.”
The Queen sat in the royal box in front of Tim Henman during her visit to Wimbledon. In the members’ enclosure, she met some tennis legends, including Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, and Martina Navratilova.
She also planned a lunch with these tennis legends at the clubhouse.
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Rafael Nadal once turned down a chance to meet the Queen
While some of the greatest tennis players were greeted by Queen Elizabeth II, Rafael Nadal once turned down to meet her.
Her Majesty paid a rare visit to the Wimbledon Championships in 2010. Rafael Nadal was also competing in the tournament. It was a rare opportunity for him to meet the queen. But he turned down the opportunity because he didn’t want to miss any of his practice sessions.
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He said that skipping practice before his match against Dutch tennis player Robin Haase in the second round would have meant missing out on the opportunity to win the Wimbledon title. He also expressed his disappointment at the missed opportunity. Nadal later went on to win his second Wimbledon title that year.
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