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Serena Williams (R) of the USA celebrates with her father Richard Williams and sister Venus Williams after her Ladies’ Singles final match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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Serena Williams (R) of the USA celebrates with her father Richard Williams and sister Venus Williams after her Ladies’ Singles final match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The teaser for the much-awaited biopic on Richard Williams, father of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and her elder sister and seven-time Major winner Venus, is out.
Helmed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and titled ‘King Richard’, the biopic stars two-time Academy Award nominee Will Smith in the title role. The movie will be streamed on HBO Max 31 days prior to its theatrical release.
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The biopic stars Will Smith in the role of Richard Williams
A celebrated tennis coach, the Williams sisters took their first lessons in the game from Richard. The teaser opens with a shot of Smith looking intently as a child artist playing the role of little Serena delivers a serve.
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LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY – AUGUST 13: Serena Williams (L) and Venus Williams touch rackets after Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 during Top Seed Open – Day 4 at the Top Seed Tennis Club on August 13, 2020 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Williams senior is often seen in the stands, especially at Grand Slam events, cheering his daughters in action.
Richard decided to coach his daughters to be professional tennis players after watching yesteryear Romanian star Virginia Ruzici in action on television. Under his tutelage, the siblings honed and sharpened their skills and grew to become the giants of women’s tennis.
Though Serena hired Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach in 2012 and went on to win 10 Grand Slam titles on his watch, she has never failed to acknowledge the role that her father played in shaping her career in the early years.
Ditto for Venus as well, who has won seven Grand Slam titles in a career spanning 26 years and counting.
Richard pulled Venus and Serena Williams out of tennis school in 1995
Richard once said that he prepared a 78-page plan and started taking his daughters to public tennis courts to familiarize themselves with the sport that they were about to take their first steps in.
In 1995, Richard took the sisters out of a tennis school he had sent them to and started giving coaching lessons himself.
From the time they turned professional, his daughters gave ample evidence of their talent and demonstrated through their performances that they were in for the long haul.
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Serena, at 39, is on the cusp of greatness as she is just one Grand Slam title away from tying with the legendary Margaret Court’s career haul of 24.
