‘I was Serena Williams’ flight attendant – this is what the superstar is really like’ | Tennis | Sport
Serena Wiliams has returned to Wimbledon (Image: Getty)
They say never meet your heroes, but that’s exactly what happened to Sam Miller on a flight from New York. The 27-year-old flight attendant helped look after Serena Williams as she travelled in business class to London in what he described as a “crazy” experience.
Sam described the American superstar as “lovely” and revealed she shared some top-tips on where to go in the Big Apple. Sam, who joined the Wimbledon queue at 5:45am on Tuesday in a bid to see Williams on her highly anticipated return to tennis, said: “We had a really lovely chat, really got to know her, felt like I got to know her on a personal level.” He said seeing the 44-year-old take to Centre Court would be a “massive tick box”.
Sam Miller (left) queuing for Wimbledon with partner Olly Hulse (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Sam said their meeting happened a couple of months ago, weeks before Williams announced her sensational comeback.
When asked whether Williams gave any hint about a return to tennis, Sam said: “No, nothing, she didn’t say anything!
“I said ‘oh, I hope to see you at Wimbledon’ and she was like ‘yep, yep, yep’ but nothing.
Serena Williams briefly spoke to fans after practice (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“She was very, very lovely, very human, didn’t really talk about tennis at all. Mainly spoke about her life and why she was in New York, restaurant recommendations and bar recommendations more than anything.
“We just had a chat about New York really!”
Sam, who was in the queue with his 23-year-old partner Olly Hulse, added: “She talked to me more like she was a friend than one of the best tennis players in the world.
“It was crazy, almost gobsmacked.”
Eric Madsen was hoping to watch Wimbledon (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles during her glittering tennis career.
She was announced as the final wildcard for the women’s singles draw earlier this month and will also play in the doubles with her older sister Venus.
The duo have won six women’s Wimbledon doubles titles together and have 12 Wimbledon singles titles between them — seven for Serena and five for Venus.
Williams revealed she had to talk herself into accepting Wimbledon’s offer to play singles.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, she said: “I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it.”
“I was like, ‘What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this,’” she added.
“People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best, I suppose. Yeah, I think ultimately I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.”
Many of the thousands queuing up for Wimbledon were eager to catch a glimpse of Williams’ shock return.
Eric Madsen, 54, flew in from Indianapolis, Indiana, with hopes of watching his fellow American back in action.
He said: “I feel like she is one of them [greatest ever].
“I liked a lot of the players around that time and before that. She was great with all different surfaces and then she was able to do doubles.”
Williams last played at Wimbledon in 2022.
She will play Australia’s Maya Joint, 24 years her junior, in the Wimbledon first round on Tuesday evening.
