Meghan Markle takes her seat at the US Open

Meghan Markle was the center of attention as she sat court side at the US Open final as her best friend lost the championship match on Saturday

The Duchess of Sussex, 38, went through a series of emotions as she cheered on the former world number one, 37, who could not dominate in her clash with Canadian Bianca Andreescu at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens.  

Andreescu shocked Williams and the world to beat the tennis legend with a 6-3, 7-5 victory.  

Markle stood up to give her close friend a round of applause as Williams walked on to the court, and was sitting in the tennis star’s box along with her husband, Reddit co-founder, Alexis Ohanian.

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, who is an avid fan of the game, and Serena’s sister Venus Williams were seated behind the Duchess, who appeared enthralled as the action on court got underway. 

Meghan went for an understated summer look, wearing a denim shirt-dress from the American fashion retailer J.Crew which retails for a modest $118. To complete the outfit, she wore a light grey cardigan coat over it along with a pair of aviator shades. 

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The Duchess’ trip also comes as aides insisted that the Duchess and her husband Prince Harry were too busy working on charitable projects to join the Queen at Balmoral this weekend.

The Sussexes have been under fire for taking private flights after previously claiming they will have a maximum of two children to avoid damaging the environment.

Meghan flew from London Heathrow, leaving Prince Harry and their four-month-old son Archie in Windsor – although a security team is said to be with her.

She is thought to have either boarded the 8.25am flight or the 9am flight from Heathrow.

The 8.25am flight left more than 30 minutes behind schedule. It had been set to arrive in New York for 11.05am local time, but instead arrived at 12.22pm.

‘It is a last-minute trip,’ a source told The Times on Friday. ‘Excited to support her friend, and then come back.’ 

There also had been rumors that the Sussexes would be joining the monarch at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands this week with their baby son Archie.

But while most of the Royal Family have made the long trek up to Aberdeenshire, Harry and Meghan actually have no plans to fly to Scotland at all.

Sources close to the couple insist that the decision should not be seen as a ‘snub’ – and Harry only rarely goes up to the Queen’s Deeside estate nowadays.

They flew to Ibiza by private jet on August 6 for Meghan’s 38th birthday. Days later, they flew to Nice on a $18million Cessna plane described as the ‘pinnacle of luxury’.

Sir Elton said he paid for their flights to his holiday home and made an ‘appropriate contribution’ to a carbon footprint fund to offset the environmental impact.

Earlier this week, Harry defended his use of private jets, claiming he needed them for his family’s safety – despite urging the public to cut their carbon footprint.

He took a scheduled flight to Amsterdam this week to promote Travalyst, a scheme for environmentally-friendly tourism.

While details of her trip are under wraps, the Duchess was seen heading into Modo Yoga with a friend in the trendy West Village neighborhood of Manhattan on Friday.

Meghan, 38, joined a surprisingly full class of up to 60 people at the eco-conscious studio, which specializes in hot yoga classes.

‘There were lots of sweet, knowing smiles’ among those in the room, a source told People.com, with everyone respecting the duchess’s privacy.

Meghan stayed up to watch the semi-final, which ended at 1.30am yesterday UK time, and is thought to have boarded a flight in London at about 8.30am. 

They are said to be concerned due to the fact that Williams lost when Meghan attended her last match at Wimbledon.

A source told Page Six: ‘Serena asked her coach about Meghan coming when she won last night and everyone is worried, as tennis players are very superstitious, and Serena lost when Meghan came to watch her at Wimbledon.’ 

The source added that Williams’ aides were concerned that the trip was a publicity stunt. However, Williams is said to ‘adore’ Meghan and ‘wouldn’t have a word of it.’

It is not yet known where in New York Meghan is staying and who she is staying with, however she is thought to have flown first class for the two-day trip across the Atlantic.

The Duchess, who also watched Williams at Wimbledon in July, flew out following the row over she and her husband Prince Harry taking four trips by private jet in 11 days last month. 

She is said to have been thinking about travelling across the Atlantic to attend the final at Arthur Ashe Stadium since Williams won her quarter-final on Wednesday.

This is Meghan’s first trip to New York since her baby shower, which Williams helped organize in February, when she partied for five nights at a $70,000-a-night penthouse with her celebrity friends.

The party, which caused disquiet in Britain due to its eye-watering estimated total bill of $405,000, was hosted by Williams and her long-standing friend Jessica Mulroney.

Meghan flew to and from the US on that occasion on a private jet with her close friend Amal Clooney, who paid for the 13-hour round trip which cost $16,000 an hour.

Meghan first met Williams at a Super Bowl party in 2010, and their friendship is thought to have quickly evolved through frequent phone calls and texts.

After becoming Prince Harry’s girlfriend and then a Duchess, Meghan is said to have leaned on Williams for mentoring on how to handle the media.

Williams, who attended their wedding in May 2018, said last year they had ‘known each other for a long time, but we really are relying on each other a lot recently’.

The couple, who live at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, enjoyed a week-long trip to Ibiza and a long weekend in the south of France with Sir Elton John last month.

The Sussexes have been under fire for taking private flights after previously claiming they will have a maximum of two children to avoid damaging the environment.

Their son Archie, who was born at Portland Hospital in London on May 6 and is seventh in line to the throne, who is just four months old.

Buckingham Palace also formally confirmed that the Sussexes would take baby Archie with them to Africa as their first official tour as a family.

There had been rumors that the Sussexes would be joining the monarch at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands this week with their baby son Archie.

But while most of the Royal Family have made the long trek up to Aberdeenshire, Harry and Meghan actually have no plans to fly to Scotland at all.

Sources close to the couple insist that the decision should not be seen as a ‘snub’ – and Harry only rarely goes up to the Queen’s Deeside estate nowadays.

Should Williams win, it’ll be her first grand slam title since the in 2017 – after which she took a year out of the game to have her daughter with co-founder husband Alexis Ohanian.

Fellow mother Meghan was cheering her on in a show of solidarity, as Williams battles back to form following a series of defeats following her pregnancy – recently losing out in the final of Wimbledon in London. 

Williams was 17 when she won her first Grand Slam singles title in 1999 at the US Open. 

Speaking before the game began, Williams, who appeared nervous, claimed: ‘It’s incredible to be honest out there, 33 is a lot of times to be in the final

‘Honestly it’s unbelievable I would have never written or expected it. Everything is a bonus and I am just so excited,’

Williams, who is mother to two-year-old Alexis, wore a Nike lilac colored two piece suit with her hair tied back in her trademark bun. 

Williams beat Ukranian Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals on Thursday and is vying to win her 24th career Grand Slam title, which would tie her with Margaret Court for the most in tennis history.

Andreescu had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam prior to the 2019 U.S. Open. The 19-year-old Canadian defeated Belinda Bencic in straight sets in the semifinals on Thursday.

The 37-year-old Williams has lost all three major finals she has reached since returning from giving birth, including to Naomi Osaka in Flushing Meadows last year.

That match is best remembered for Williams’ arguments with chair umpire Carlos Ramos.

On Friday her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also believes her familiarity with the big stage could give her an edge.