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‘Tennis Was Dead’- ‘King’ Richard Made a Huge Statement on How Venus and Serena Williams Were the Pioneers of Modern Tennis

Published 06/27/2022, 9:30 AM EDT

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Venus and Serena Williams have changed the course of women’s tennis. This took a lot of resilience and training by the sisters under the aegis of their father, Richard Williams. According to their father, the sisters revolutionised the sport of tennis.

Tennis as a sport requires a proper decorum which the father felt was very stagnant since its inception. He expressed his views on how the sisters revolutionized the sport.

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Richard Williams on tennis being a stagnant sport

Richard Williams was talking about Venus Williams’ grunting; he simply refuted by saying that there isn’t anything wrong with the grunting.

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But there’s something wrong with tennis as it has stayed stagnant. When the reporter asked him to elaborate, he said, “In 1884, tennis came to America, and it has been the same. Nothing has changed. They want you to sit there and be quiet. Turn your neck this way, turn it that way, and get a crick in it.”

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He felt the sport has been the same since its inception, which makes the sport, not a fun-loving one. He said, “Somewhere along the line, you have to say, “Let’s have some fun out here.” Who wants to come out here, buy a ticket and sit still? It doesn’t make sense.”

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How did Venus and Serena Williams revolutionize tennis?

Richard Williams gave his daughters the credit for revolutionizing the sport. He said, “Until Venus came along, tennis was dead. Venus brought tennis to life. When Serena came along and added more life, tennis became a very popular sport all over again. Until then, tennis had died and went to hell. I think they need to change tennis because it’s dead.”

Venus and Serena Williams have raised the bar of women’s tennis and the sisters brought a lot of good names and fame to the sport. The players are still active and we will see Serena Williams being a part of the Wimbledon.

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Written by:

Shivali Sharma

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Shivali Sharma is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. She has pursued her Master's in history from Himachal University, but her love for the game has driven her to write about tennis. Shivali is a huge fan of Naomi Osaka and admires Osaka not only for her on-court performances, but also for her off-court actions.
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