Home

Tennis

‘When She Got Angry…’ – Hitting Partner Reveals the One Thing That Scares Venus and Serena Williams’ Father the Most

Published 09/08/2022, 3:08 PM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

From an early age, both Venus and Serena Williams were exceptionally talented. Their father, Richard Williams, coached them first and then they learned all the technicalities of tennis under the Hall of Famer coach, Rick Macci.

In a recent interview, Venus and Serena’s former hitting partner, Brad Thyroff, told an interesting story about Richard Williams’ biggest fear. According to him, an angry-looking Serena scared ‘King Richard’ the most in the world.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Serena Williams’ anger scared King Richard the most

Notably, Thyroff was Venus and Serena’s hitting partner from 1999 to 2001. During that time, he observed both the sisters very closely and their father as well. Speaking about Richard’s fear, he said, “Richard feared only one person in the world: Serena when she got angry. It was almost Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.” (Translated using Google Translate)

“On the court, I could have Serena angry, cold and quiet as much as the most jovial person and fun of the world,” he further said about Serena’s on-court attitude. 

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

It is worth noting that Venus went pro in 1994 and a year later, Serena also made her professional debut on the WTA tour. Since then, they have been dominating the sport for more than 25 years.

Venus and Serena’s career so far

When Richard first started training them at an early age, Venus was more talented, as many believed she would become world no.1 one day. As for Serena, many thought she had less talent than Venus; however, the younger sister worked on her game and became the first Grand Slam champion in the family. In 1999, she shocked everyone by winning the US Open singles title.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story: Venus and Serena Williams’ hitting partner once revealed how he became more of a family to the sister duo

This win did not demoralize her elder sister, Venus, as she won both Wimbledon and the US Open the very next year. In 2001, she again won the same Grand Slam titles. As a result, she reached no.1 in the rankings in 2002.

via Getty

Meanwhile, Venus’ younger sister Serena faced difficulties after winning a Grand Slam title initially. After winning the French Open in 2002, she became an unstoppable force in the game. In the end, she won 23 Grand Slam titles. In terms of doubles, the Williams Sisters dominated most Majors. Together, they won 14 Grand Slam titles.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Recently, Serena retired from professional tennis at the age of 40 after having an incredible career. As for Venus, she is still playing on the tour, even though her current form is not very great. Only time will tell when the 7-time Grand Slam winner will say goodbye to tennis.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Debkinkar Maity

1,493Articles

One take at a time

Debkinkar Maity is a Tennis Author at EssentiallySports. His desire to become a sports journalist inspired him to take up a degree in journalism and mass communication, and he hasn't looked back ever since. Following the sport for over a decade now, Debkinkar has an ardent love for Roger Federer.
Show More>