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1992: Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams ride with their father Richard Williams at a tennis camp in Florida. Mandatory Credit: Ken Levine /Allsport
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1992: Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams ride with their father Richard Williams at a tennis camp in Florida. Mandatory Credit: Ken Levine /Allsport
Richard Williams is one of the most influential coaches in tennis history. While raising his two daughters – Venus and Serena, he also went on to coach them into the biggest stars in the modern game. However, Williams did not start off this journey without his fair share of struggles.
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In his young days, Williams suffered from violent attacks and hatred due to his ethnicity. This prompted him to take a different approach thereon.
Richard Williams talks about his ‘thieving’ days
In an old interview in 2012 with Q on CBC, Williams spoke about how he used to make ends meet before he started a family in America. He said, “During my days, I became a thief. I became a thief because of my best friend at that time ‘Little Man’ was killed. So I took off what he left off from.”
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“In the process of him getting killed, he was killed by some white papers and they said it was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) from what I understand. Nothing is difficult unless you allow it to be,” he added.
Williams teamed up with Italian coach Rick Macci, training both his children from a very young age in America.
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The success of the Williams’ sisters
Under the tutelage of their dad, Serena and Venus went on to create history in women’s tennis. The pair have won a staggering 30 Grand Slams singles titles. They also represented the United States at the Olympics, winning four gold medals, one each in singles and three as a pair, for their country.
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WTA Players, Williams Sisters
The sisters became the first siblings to meet in a Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era at the 2001 US Open final. While Serena is one Grand Slam away from equaling the all-time record of 24, set by Margaret Court, Venus has collected 7 of her own in her career. They also went on to reach the World No. 1 ranking in singles and doubles on the WTA Tour.
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Now, as both have turned 40, we are surely seeing the last few years of the Williams sisters, who changed the face of modern women’s tennis. The Williams sisters are undoubtedly future Hall of Famers after achieving splendid success in the last two decades.
Written by
Edited by
Tony Thomas