“Richard Willpower Williams pushed his kids hard every Day. He challenged them every Day. He yelled at them every Day.” That’s what Rick Macci, the childhood coach of 23-time slam queen Serena Williams and sister Venus, had to say while recalling father Richard Williams’ ways of honing the skills of his champion daughters. Even Venus underlined previously how her practice sessions used to be an intense routine, saying, “We were not allowed to play defense.” Now, it seems she is not the only one complaining.

Speaking on their upcoming episode on the Stockton Podcast, Serena didn’t hesitate to make a confession about her days of training under her father, Richard. When Venus asked, “Did you ever feel like we practiced too much?” The 44-year-old’s immediate response was, “Absolutely.” She continued, “I felt like it was too much. I felt like it was unnecessary, and I hated practice, I really did.”

However, the WTA icon was quick to realize that all her success today stemmed from tennis, which wouldn’t have been a reality if she had refused to work hard back in the day. Valuing her father’s strict yet solid schedule, she added, “Looking back, we needed every second of that. In order to be the best, you have to put in the time, and you have to be willing to work harder than anyone else.”

The tennis mom further underlined, “I think those practices made me want to practice in the future because once I became my own professional, I was always at it; I never skipped practice.” Richard Williams’ training methods were unconventional. He used to give them bad balls and make them hit them hard, and he also threw broken glass on the court to improve their agility. At the end of the day, everything was worth it.

In fact, the mindset of working hard constantly, no matter the age, has impacted her so much that she now wants the same for her elder daughter, Olympia. She told Venus how she tries to teach the values of doing work to Olympia, saying, “You don’t understand the bit of it now, it sucks today, it really does. But tomorrow, it is going to be, you are going to be so happy that you did it.”

For the uninitiated, the seven-year-old has already begun taking small steps toward the path of work that leads to success in a unique way, thanks to mother Williams and father Alexis Ohanian’s unique parenting style.

How Serena Williams and Alexis are teaching Olympia the lesson of hard work

In an interview with podcaster Jemele Hill during an episode of her show earlier this year, Alexis Ohanian revealed Olympia’s allowance. To everyone’s surprise, it is just $7 for a week. And that, too, comes after she performs a certain number of daily chores at home.

Explaining this unique way of parenting alongside wife Serena, Ohanian revealed they want to make sure Olympia realizes she needs to earn her rewards. And that nothing in life comes easily. They are so strict with this entire setup that they even made a contract for their elder daughter. “Serena was her lawyer in the negotiation. I drew up a real contract. We negotiated it. Her mom was her counsel, which was really frustrating,” reported Hola, back in April.

“I figured out how to get her to value cash, which was helpful,” he added. “We’re both trying to navigate how to create the circumstances for her to be a functional adult, while also having resources that we couldn’t have imagined,” the former Reddit co-founder concluded.

It seems like Alexis and Serena want to ensure that Olympia doesn’t get spoiled with the luxuries she already has while growing up. Instead, they want her to always remember the importance of hard work and the fruits it offers in the long run. Good parenting skills? Let us know in the comments.