Richard Williams has always been protective of his daughters. Both Venus and Serena Williams earned fame at a very young age. With the critical eyes of tennis fans always on his daughters, Richard’s will to safeguard his daughters was understandable. However, he sometimes forgot to limit himself and got tangled in verbal fights.

One of the most famous and long-lived cold wars Richard has had was with the Swiss professional Martina Hingis. Hingis, who turned pro around the same time as the Williams sisters, was one of their major rivals. Therefore, Williams often included her in his interviews and sometimes used poor words to portray her game. However, his words after the 2001 US Open were harsher than ever.

Richard Williams slams Hingis

After Venus Williams outclassed the 1998 US Open champion Lindsay Davenport in the finals, Richard attacked Hingis along with the runner-up. He said, “I can’t see Hingis getting any better. And Lindsay is getting old and slower. You know, Hingis is an inch shorter than when I first met her.”

Thereafter, he added, “She should come to me and say, ‘Master Williams, I want you to help me. I want to be better.’ And I could help her. I’ve got a friend in Compton, and when he’s not high, he’s a surgeon. He could saw her legs off and attach new legs that are a couple of inches taller. Her legs are too short to run the ball down.”

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Further, Hingis got thrown out of the Grand Slam in the semifinals and to Richard’s joy, it was Serena Williams who walked her out of the tournament in straight sets of 6-4, 6-3.

Venus and Serena Williams’ journey to greatness

Starting with the elder sister. Venus Williams turned pro in the year 1994 and flipped the entire power structure of the WTA to assert dominance. She claimed the ranking of World no. 1 in the year 2002 after reigning in the Wimbledon Championships, and the US Open, bringing America a gold medal from Australia. Currently, Williams has seven Grand Slam titles under her name and a total of four gold medals.

Watch this story: Will Smith Shows How King Richard Cast Trained Like Serena and Venus Williams

Speaking about Serena, she is regarded as one of the most talented players of all time. She has won 23 Grand Slam titles and has a record of holding the crown of World No.1 for a total of 319 weeks. Further, she is the only active WTA player who has achieved the milestone of 100 victories in a Grand Slam.