The manner in which Serena Williams has raised the bar for tennis on a global level has been phenomenal. After decades of dominance, Serena is still competing at the highest level on the WTA Tour. The foundations of her incredible career were laid by her father, Richard Williams and former coach, Rick Macci. 

Recently, the biopic King Richard was released, based on the Williams family’s journey. Hollywood actor Jon Bernthal, who plays Rick Macci in the movie, talked about Serena Williams‘ experience of training under the coach in real life.  

Serena Williams enjoyed working with former coach 

The actor from ‘The Walking Dead’ fame stated, “The thing Serena Williams first told when I first talked to her about Rick is playing with Rick Macci, being at his academy was one of the ‘funnest’ times of my life. Everyone said it who played for him, how much fun it was.”

Serena told the actor that she had some of the most enjoyable moments of her life training at Rick Macci’s academy. Jon went on and revealed that everybody spoke of Rick’s jovial attitude and the positivity he brought about in the environment. The actor also mentioned the sporting attitude Rick had in him. 

The actor from Marvel’s ‘The Punisher’ added, “Everybody just talked about how much fun he had and he was always making it a game. If he had to get somewhere, he was racing, it was always a bet, it was always a contest and I loved that aspect of it.”

Coming to tennis, Williams has not featured since an injury forced her withdrawal from the Wimbledon Championships. She will be looking to make her comeback at the ‘Happy Slam’ in 2022 and hoping to go further than her semi-final run this year to grab her 24th Grand Slam title. We wish her all the best in her preparations for the upcoming season. 

Watch this story: The Journey of Roger Federer to the Elite Billionaire’s Club