{"id":23183,"date":"2021-11-18T22:22:17","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T04:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=23183"},"modified":"2021-11-18T22:24:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T04:24:14","slug":"serena-and-venus-williams-joked-with-their-sisters-about-moms-unpredictable-wit-in-first-ever-interview-as-a-family-serena-and-venus-dad-raised-champions-using-his-methods-and-it-worked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=23183","title":{"rendered":"Serena and Venus Williams joked with their sisters about mom&#8217;s unpredictable wit in first-ever interview as a family.  Serena and Venus\u2019 dad raised champions using his methods, and it worked!"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"articlePageBodySection\" class=\"articlePage_section-DS-EntryPoint1-1 articlePage_section_continueReading-DS-EntryPoint1-1\">\n<article><a class=\"article-image-height-wrapper\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/offbeat\/serena-and-venus-williams-joked-with-their-sisters-about-moms-unpredictable-wit-in-first-ever-interview-as-a-family\/ar-AAQOUB9?li=BBnbfcL&amp;fullscreen=true#image=3\" data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;destination&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:14,&quot;b&quot;:1,&quot;c.t&quot;:14}\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Will Smith hosted Serena and Venus Williams as well as their sisters and mother for an episode of &quot;Red Table Talk.&quot; Red Table Talk \/ Facebook Watch\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQOUAO.img?w=768&amp;h=432&amp;m=6&amp;x=46&amp;y=65&amp;s=869&amp;d=154\" alt=\"Will Smith hosted Serena and Venus Williams as well as their sisters and mother for an episode of &quot;Red Table Talk.&quot; Red Table Talk \/ Facebook Watch\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"image-caption-container\"><strong><span class=\"image-caption\">Will Smith hosted Serena and Venus Williams as well as their sisters and mother for an episode of &#8220;Red Table Talk.&#8221;<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-list-slot\">\n<ul class=\"summary-list\">\n<li><strong>Will Smith hosted Venus and Serena Williams as well as their mom and sisters on &#8220;Red Table Talk.&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The appearance was the family&#8217;s first-ever interview as a full family.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In an exclusive clip, the sisters joke about their mom&#8217;s unpredictable wit and Twitter presence.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"dropcap-parent\" data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong><span class=\"dropcap-element-slot\">V<\/span>enus and Serena Williams have done more than their fair share of interviews over the course of their illustrious, decades-long professional tennis careers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>But for the first time ever, the superstar sisters \u2014 who own a combined 33 Grand Slam singles titles between them \u2014 were joined by their mother and two sisters for an unprecedented full-family sit-down conversation with Will Smith.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong><a class=\"article-image-height-wrapper\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/offbeat\/serena-and-venus-williams-joked-with-their-sisters-about-moms-unpredictable-wit-in-first-ever-interview-as-a-family\/ar-AAQOUB9?li=BBnbfcL&amp;fullscreen=true#image=4\" data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;destination&quot;,&quot;t&quot;:14,&quot;b&quot;:1,&quot;c.t&quot;:14}\"> <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"Oracene Price (center) yells while watching her daughter, Venus Williams, compete at Wimbledon in 2016. REUTERS\/Andrew Couldridge\" src=\"https:\/\/img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net\/tenant\/amp\/entityid\/AAQOUAV.img?w=768&amp;h=520&amp;m=6&amp;x=131&amp;y=176&amp;s=748&amp;d=105\" alt=\"Oracene Price (center) yells while watching her daughter, Venus Williams, compete at Wimbledon in 2016. REUTERS\/Andrew Couldridge\" \/> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"articlePageCommentsSection\" class=\"articlePage_section-DS-EntryPoint1-1\">\n<div class=\"mainContainer-DS-EntryPoint1-3 mainContainer-DS-EntryPoint1-4\" data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;COMMENT&quot;,&quot;c.v&quot;:&quot;news&quot;,&quot;c.c&quot;:&quot;offbeat&quot;}\">\n<div class=\"commentContainer-DS-EntryPoint1-1 commentOverlayContainer-DS-EntryPoint1-1\">\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>The quartet \u2014 Venus and Serena, older half-sisters Isha and Lyndrea Price, and mom Oracene Price \u2014 will be on this week&#8217;s episode of Facebook Watch&#8217;s &#8220;Red Table Talk,&#8221; which begins streaming Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>With Smith guiding the conversation, the women reminisced about the past, discussed their dynamic as a family, and reflected on the process of creating &#8220;King Richard&#8221; \u2014 a blockbuster film about the Williams sisters&#8217; journey to tennis glory spearheaded by their father, Richard. Smith plays the titular character in the movie, which comes out in theaters and on HBO Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>In a particularly funny moment from the episode, the sisters joke about their mom&#8217;s witty sense of humor that can, sometimes, become a bit unpredictable. Venus stresses that Oracene is &#8220;so fun&#8221; before Serena interjects that &#8220;we do hold our breath a lot sometimes when she speaks in public.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"continueReadBreak\" data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>&#8220;I think that&#8217;s why she ended her Twitter account \u2014 or she was forced to,&#8221; she added as the whole group laughed.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-t=\"{&quot;n&quot;:&quot;blueLinks&quot;}\"><strong>__________________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div id=\"attribution\" class=\"attribution\">\n<header class=\"caas-header\">\n<header class=\"caas-title-wrapper\">\n<h1 data-test-locator=\"headline\"><strong>Venus And Serena Williams Talk About Their Mother\u2019s Strength In Latest Episode Of Red Table Talk: \u2018She Had To Support Seven People\u2019<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/header>\n<div id=\"Masterwrap\" class=\"W(100%) Pos(r) Op(1) Reader-open_Op(0) Trs($pageTransition)\">\n<div id=\"Page\" class=\"D(f)! Fld(r) Fxw(w) Jc(sb) Ai(fs) Z(1) Pos(r) Maw(1260px) Miw(980px) Miw(a)--md Mx(a) Px(20px)\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"caas-content-body\">\n<div id=\"content-wrapper\">\n<div>\n<div id=\"module-article\">\n<div id=\"caas-art-2c84e32c-22ea-34c9-a4ce-b0b20383a7eb\" class=\"caas caas-cc enableInArticleAd enableLiveConfig enableSlideShowKV enableVideoDocking enableVideoThirtyView enableXrayEntityAboutFacts enableXrayNcp enableXrayNcpV2SalienceMerge enableXrayPeopleEntities enableXrayTopicEntities enableYivConsumerTag outStream showCommentsIconInShareSec slideshowv2 videoDetection lifestyle caas-click-attached\" data-assets=\"\" data-cobrandname=\"\" data-device=\"desktop\" data-i18n=\"{&quot;{0} min&quot;:&quot;{0} min&quot;,&quot;{0} min read&quot;:&quot;{0} min read&quot;,&quot;{0} mins read&quot;:&quot;{0} mins read&quot;,&quot;{0} Views&quot;:&quot;{0} Views&quot;,&quot;{0} followers&quot;:&quot;{0} followers&quot;,&quot;{0} symbols&quot;:&quot;{0} symbols&quot;,&quot;360_TITLE&quot;:&quot;The 360&quot;,&quot;Ad&quot;:&quot;Ad&quot;,&quot;AD_PLACEHOLDER_TEXT&quot;:&quot;Advertisement&quot;,&quot;AND&quot;:&quot;and&quot;,&quot;AR_INLINE_FALLBACK&quot;:&quot;This story has augmented reality! Tap the video above to see how it looks and download the \\u003Ca href=\\&quot;https:\\u002F\\u002Fitunes.apple.com\\u002Fus\\u002Fapp\\u002Fyahoo-news-live-breaking-news\\u002Fid304158842?mt=8\\&quot;\\u003EYahoo News app\\u003C\\u002Fa\\u003E to launch the full experience. Augmented reality is currently available to iPhone users (iPhone 8 and later) with the latest version of iOS.&quot;,&quot;AR_INTRO_LINK&quot;:&quot;Read more about how it works here.&quot;,&quot;AR_INTRO&quot;:&quot;Yahoo News now features augmented reality, an immersive storytelling format that brings our journalism to life in new ways. Experience it below.&quot;,&quot;AR_TITLE_MODEL_VIEWER&quot;:&quot;Tap to see in your space &amp;rarr;&quot;,&quot;BUY_NOW&quot;:&quot;Buy Now&quot;,&quot;CLOSE&quot;:&quot;Close&quot;,&quot;CLOSE_TOOLTIP&quot;:&quot;Close tooltip&quot;,&quot;CLOSE_XRAY_MODAL&quot;:&quot;Close more info modal dialog&quot;,&quot;COLLAPSE&quot;:&quot;Collapse&quot;,&quot;COMMENTS&quot;:&quot;Comments&quot;,&quot;CONS&quot;:&quot;Cons&quot;,&quot;CONSENT_BLOCKED_3P&quot;:&quot;This content is not available due to your privacy preferences.&quot;,&quot;CONSENT_BLOCKED_3P_LINK_TEXT&quot;:&quot;Update your settings here to see it.&quot;,&quot;CONTINUE_READING&quot;:&quot;Continue reading&quot;,&quot;EMAIL&quot;:&quot;Email&quot;,&quot;ENGADGET_DISCLAIMER&quot;:&quot;All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.&quot;,&quot;EXPLORE_THE_TOPICS&quot;:&quot;Explore the topics mentioned in this article&quot;,&quot;FACT_CHECK&quot;:&quot;Fact Check&quot;,&quot;FOLLOW&quot;:&quot;Follow&quot;,&quot;GET_APP&quot;:&quot;Get the App&quot;,&quot;GRAPHIQ&quot;:&quot;Visualization by Graphiq&quot;,&quot;IN_THIS_ARTICLE&quot;:&quot;In this article&quot;,&quot;LESS&quot;:&quot;Less&quot;,&quot;LIVE&quot;:&quot;Live&quot;,&quot;MORE&quot;:&quot;More&quot;,&quot;MORE_CONTENT_BELOW&quot;:&quot;More content below&quot;,&quot;NEW&quot;:&quot;New&quot;,&quot;NEWS_APP_PROMOTION_CAPTION&quot;:&quot;Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories&quot;,&quot;NEWS_APP_PROMOTION_HEADLINE&quot;:&quot;Yahoo News is better in the app&quot;,&quot;NEXT_PHOTO&quot;:&quot;Next photo&quot;,&quot;OOPS&quot;:&quot;Oops!&quot;,&quot;OPEN_XRAY_MODAL&quot;:&quot;More info modal dialog&quot;,&quot;ORIGINALLY_PUBLISHED&quot;:&quot;Originally published&quot;,&quot;PHOTOS&quot;:&quot;Photos&quot;,&quot;PIN_IT&quot;:&quot;Pin it&quot;,&quot;POWERED_BY_YAHOO_FINANCE&quot;:&quot;Powered by Yahoo Finance&quot;,&quot;PROS&quot;:&quot;Pros&quot;,&quot;PREVIOUS_PHOTO&quot;:&quot;Previous photo&quot;,&quot;PUBLISHED&quot;:&quot;Published&quot;,&quot;PUBLISHER_ATTRIBUTION&quot;:&quot;View article source&quot;,&quot;REACTIONS&quot;:&quot;Reactions&quot;,&quot;READ_FULL_ARTICLE&quot;:&quot;Read full article&quot;,&quot;READ_MORE&quot;:&quot;Read More&quot;,&quot;RECIPE_DIRECTION_TITLE&quot;:&quot;Directions&quot;,&quot;RECIPE_INGREDIENTS_TITLE&quot;:&quot;Ingredients&quot;,&quot;Scroll to continue with content&quot;:&quot;Scroll to continue with content&quot;,&quot;SEE_GALLERY&quot;:&quot;See Gallery&quot;,&quot;SEE_LESS&quot;:&quot;See less&quot;,&quot;SEE_MORE&quot;:&quot;See more&quot;,&quot;SHARE_FACEBOOK&quot;:&quot;Share on Facebook&quot;,&quot;SHARE_LINKEDIN&quot;:&quot;Share on LinkedIn&quot;,&quot;SHARE_REDDIT&quot;:&quot;Share on Reddit&quot;,&quot;SHARE_LINE&quot;:&quot;Share on Line&quot;,&quot;SHARE_WHATSAPP&quot;:&quot;Share on WhatsApp&quot;,&quot;SHARE&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;SHARES&quot;:&quot;Shares&quot;,&quot;SHOW_MEDIA&quot;:&quot;Show media&quot;,&quot;SHOW_NEXT_CARDS&quot;:&quot;Show next cards&quot;,&quot;SHOW_PREVIOUS_CARDS&quot;:&quot;Show previous cards&quot;,&quot;SHOW_TEXT_ONLY&quot;:&quot;Show text only&quot;,&quot;SLIDE {0} OF {1}&quot;:&quot;Slide {0} of {1}&quot;,&quot;SOMETHING_WENT_WRONG&quot;:&quot;Something went wrong.&quot;,&quot;STORY_CONTINUES&quot;:&quot;Story continues&quot;,&quot;STRUCTURED_SUMMARY_TITLE&quot;:&quot;Summary&quot;,&quot;STRUCTURED_SUMMARY_TOOLTIP_TEXT&quot;:&quot;Smart Summary powered by Yahoo, available on select stories.&quot;,&quot;SUMMARY&quot;:&quot;Summary&quot;,&quot;SWIPE_DOWN_TO_CLOSE&quot;:&quot;Swipe down to close.&quot;,&quot;TAGS&quot;:&quot;Tags&quot;,&quot;TODAY&quot;:&quot;Today&quot;,&quot;TOMORROW&quot;:&quot;Tomorrow&quot;,&quot;TRY_LATER&quot;:&quot;Please try again later.&quot;,&quot;TWEET&quot;:&quot;Tweet&quot;,&quot;UNFOLLOW&quot;:&quot;Unfollow&quot;,&quot;UNIT_OF_TIME_HOUR&quot;:&quot;hr&quot;,&quot;UNIT_OF_TIME_MINUTE&quot;:&quot;min&quot;,&quot;UPDATED&quot;:&quot;Updated&quot;,&quot;VIDEO_TITLE&quot;:&quot; [Video]&quot;,&quot;VIDEO_TRANSCRIPT&quot;:&quot;Video Transcript&quot;,&quot;VIEW_AR_IMAGE&quot;:&quot;View this in your space in AR&quot;,&quot;VIEW_PHOTOS&quot;:&quot;View photos&quot;,&quot;YOU_MAY_ALSO_BE_INTERESTED_IN&quot;:&quot;You may also be interested in:&quot;,&quot;VERSUS&quot;:&quot;vs&quot;,&quot;WATCHLIST&quot;:&quot;Watchlist&quot;}\" data-lang=\"en-US\" data-tz=\"America\/Chicago\" data-params=\"{&quot;features&quot;:{&quot;enableInArticleAd&quot;:true,&quot;enableLiveConfig&quot;:true,&quot;enableSlideShowKV&quot;:true,&quot;enableVideoDocking&quot;:true,&quot;enableVideoThirtyView&quot;:true,&quot;enableXrayEntityAboutFacts&quot;:true,&quot;enableXrayNcp&quot;:true,&quot;enableXrayNcpV2SalienceMerge&quot;:true,&quot;enableXrayPeopleEntities&quot;:true,&quot;enableXrayTopicEntities&quot;:true,&quot;enableYivConsumerTag&quot;:true,&quot;outStream&quot;:true,&quot;showCommentsIconInShareSec&quot;:true,&quot;slideshowv2&quot;:true,&quot;videoDetection&quot;:true},&quot;config&quot;:{&quot;authorBylineCollapseLineCount&quot;:2,&quot;freezeOnLinkClick&quot;:true,&quot;lazyOffsetY&quot;:1300,&quot;livecoverage&quot;:{&quot;defer&quot;:false},&quot;imageCaptionCollapseLineCount&quot;:3,&quot;uiShowPreviousButtonOnLoad&quot;:true}}\">\n<article class=\"caas-container\" tabindex=\"-1\" role=\"article\">\n<div class=\"caas-body-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-body-content\">\n<div class=\"caas-body-inner-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-body-section\">\n<div class=\"caas-content wafer-sticky wafer-loader-success\" data-wf-sticky-boundary=\"caas-body-section\" data-wf-sticky-offset=\"165px 10px\" data-wf-sticky-target=\".caas-share-buttons\">\n<div class=\"caas-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"caas-body\">\n<figure class=\"caas-figure\">\n<div class=\"caas-figure-with-pb\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"caas-img-container\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img has-preview\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/6g7RJJNMtl9fzdgBGMqXKw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/aIjN0h0GBPHGD1aIKc0blQ--~B\/aD0zNzE7dz02NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/madame_noire_180\/9612634ff96fdbd10722e5ffc091ae63\" alt=\"king richard\" data-src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/6g7RJJNMtl9fzdgBGMqXKw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU0MDtjZj13ZWJw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/aIjN0h0GBPHGD1aIKc0blQ--~B\/aD0zNzE7dz02NjA7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/madame_noire_180\/9612634ff96fdbd10722e5ffc091ae63\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\" data-id=\"m-0\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Will Smith sat down with tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams on the latest episode of <em>Red Table Talk<\/em> in preparation for the release of the new movie <em>King Richard<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In the film, Will depicts Venus and Serena\u2019s <a class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\" href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1234221\/will-smith-to-depict-the-father-of-venus-and-serena-williams-in-king-richard\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:tenacious and determined father\">tenacious and determined father<\/a>, Richard Williams. Through struggles and successes, Richard fought to help his tennis-playing daughters make it to the upper echelon of their sport.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Later, the tennis icons\u2019 mother and sisters join the episode for their very first appearance as a family. The Williams chatted with Will about how their mother also played a significant role in helping them make it to where they are today.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cMy dad at one point was working and then he stopped,\u201d Serena explained. \u201cHe\u2019s like this is what we\u2019re going to do: \u2018I\u2019m not going to have a job and I\u2019m going to go with Venus and Serena and train them everyday.&#8217;\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNow that would be impossible for me if <a class=\"link rapid-noclick-resp\" href=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/1200722\/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-washcloths\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-ylk=\"slk:my husband\">my husband<\/a> [Alexis Ohanian Jr.] were to tell me that. I\u2019d be like \u2018Well I\u2019ve kind of been working my whole life, I\u2019m trying to relax a little bit,&#8217;\u201d Serena noted. Speaking of her mother Oracene Price\u2019s strength as she and her siblings grew up, Serena added, \u201cShe had to support seven people \u2014 it was a family of seven. And so to have that faith and to have that backend support \u2014 we wouldn\u2019t have survived without that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cMy mom was really the guiding force, and you can see that with her words \u2014 they\u2019re wise and full of fun,\u201d Venus said with a chuckle. \u201cThey\u2019re fun and she\u2019s very witty.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Throughout the episode, Will, Venus, Serena and the rest of the gang unpacked other \u201clessons, losses, wisdom, and wins\u201d from behind-the-scenes stories of <em>King Richard<\/em>. Viewers also got star-studded surprises from other famous fans of the tennis-playing dup, including Simone Biles, Coco Gauff, Naomi Campbell and more.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"D(f)! Fld(r) Fxw(w) Jc(sb) Ai(fs) Pos(r) Maw(1260px) Miw(980px) Mx(a) Px(20px) Z(0)\">\n<div id=\"module-moreStories\" class=\"wafer-rapid-module Mb($gridMargin) wafer-rapid-tracked\">\n<div id=\"stream-wrapper\" class=\"stream wafer-sticky\" data-wf-sticky-offset=\"130px 10px\" data-wf-sticky-target=\"#adsStream\" data-wf-trigger-percentage=\"\">\n<ul class=\"common simple-list Pstart(0)\">\n<li class=\"common simple-list-item stream-item D(n):e stream-list Mt(20px) Mt(0):fc Mb(25px) Mih(144px) js-stream-content\">\n<div class=\"item-hover-trigger Pos(r)\">\n<div class=\"item-img-wrapper Pos(r) Fl(start) Mend(16px) Ov(h) Fxs(0) Bdrs(8px) Z(0)\"><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"Mah(168px) W(257px) H(144px) D(b) item-hover-trigger:h_Scale(1.05) Trs(listItemTransformTransition) wafer-img-native wafer-img-loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/GooQ0DLHJuS5BZ7agbyTGQ--~B\/Zmk9c3RyaW07aD0yODg7dz01MTQ7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/0EKNeeMaUuE2VFkdclJ1hw--~B\/aD0zNzA7dz03NDE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/hearst_womens_health_52\/a07a7f0742e626979f9994aad6d56702.cf.webp\" alt=\"\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"simple-item-content Mih(124px)\">\n<p class=\"M(0) C($summaryColor) Fz(14px) Lh(1.43em) LineClamp(3,60px)\"><strong>Tennis pros Venus Williams, 41, and Serena Williams, 40, both showed off their killer legs on the red carpet. Both sisters eat mostly plant-based to stay fit.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>_____________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1><strong>This Throwback Interview Of Richard Williams Defending Venus\u2019 Confidence At 14 Is Black Fatherhood At Its Finest<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"post-block\">\n<div id=\"the_content\">\n<div id=\"slideshow-1038430\" class=\"bhm-slideshow\" data-current-page-index=\"0\">\n<div class=\"ajax-slide active\">\n<div id=\"attachment_1038438\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1038438\" src=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?strip=all&amp;quality=80\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?strip=all&amp;quality=80 1068w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=153%2C86&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 153w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=378%2C212&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 378w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=768%2C431&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 768w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=660%2C371&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 660w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=360%2C202&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 360w, https:\/\/madamenoire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2018\/08\/venus-williams.jpg?resize=50%2C28&amp;strip=all&amp;quality=80 50w\" alt=\"Venus Williams\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1038438\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong>Every few years, a video of <a href=\"http:\/\/madamenoire.com\/840619\/venus-williams-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Venus Williams<\/a> having her confidence questioned by a reporter, and her father, Richard Williams, stepping in to defend her, resurfaces. But this time around, with the help of Chicago-based rapper and activist <a href=\"http:\/\/ricwilsonmusic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ric Wilson<\/a> (check out his recent EP, <a href=\"http:\/\/smarturl.it\/ricwilson_BANBA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>BANBA<\/em><\/a>), it\u2019s gone viral and been shared by a number of celebrities, and for good reason.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The interview happened back in 1995, and took place for the ABC News program, <em>Day One<\/em>. A then 14-year-old Venus conversed with correspondent John McKenzie about what she feels inside when she\u2019s on the court, and her confidence when it comes to playing opponents who, at the time, were much older than her. When asked if she thought she could beat a player who isn\u2019t identified in the resurfaced clip, she says, \u201cI know I can beat her,\u201d to which McKenzie responds, \u201cYou know [you can beat her]? Very confident.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When she replies that she is indeed \u201cvery confident,\u201d he then begins to quiz her about the reason she\u2019s so comfortable in her abilities, asking, \u201cYou say it so easily. Why?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>From there, Richard steps in.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"><strong>This video of Richard Williams defending Venus&#8217;s confidence when she was 14 yr old is the best video on the internet <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NqnCRJsLLf\">pic.twitter.com\/NqnCRJsLLf<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u2014 disco ric (@RicWilson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RicWilson\/status\/1034616943901388801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2018<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>\u201cWhat she said, she said it with so much confidence the first time, but you keep going on and on,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When Richard interrupts the interview, McKenzie tries to tell him that they can\u2019t continue with his interruptions, but Richard lets him know they\u00a0<em>won\u2019t\u00a0<\/em>continue if he keeps trying to break the spirit of a child.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to understand that you\u2019re dealing with the image of a 14-year-old child,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd this child gonna be out there playing when your old a\u2013 and me gonna be in the grave. When she say something, we done told you what\u2019s happening. You\u2019re dealing with a little Black kid, and let her be a kid! She done answered it with a lot of confidence, leave that alone!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>McKenzie probably could have formed the question in a different way, but definitely, hearing him sound not impressed, but rather, a tad puzzled by her confidence is disappointing. Interesting enough, the segment actually earned him an Emmy nomination.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>As for Venus, now 38, she certainly had a reason to be confident. She went on to win seven Grand Slam singles titles. Along with sister Serena, she is known as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, so it\u2019s clear that Richard was right when speaking on the importance of not trying to interfere with a child\u2019s confidence. This is particularly important for a Black child, who in this world, often struggles to be treated as a simple, innocent kid.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>_______________________________________________________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\"><strong>Richard Williams (tennis coach)<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"contentSub\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20268\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SERENA-VENUS.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"185\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<div id=\"contentSub2\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"infobox vcard\">\n<caption class=\"infobox-title fn\"><strong>Richard Williams<\/strong><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-image\" colspan=\"2\"><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b2\/Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg\/220px-Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b2\/Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg\/330px-Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b2\/Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg\/440px-Richard_Williams_at_Acura_Classic.jpg 2x\" alt=\"Richard Williams at Acura Classic.jpg\" width=\"220\" height=\"287\" data-file-width=\"1100\" data-file-height=\"1437\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"infobox-caption\"><strong>Williams at the 2007 <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Acura Classic\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Acura_Classic\">Acura Classic<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Full\u00a0name<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>Richard Dove Williams Jr.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Born<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong><span class=\"nowrap\">February 14, 1942<span class=\"noprint ForceAgeToShow\"> (age\u00a079)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><a title=\"Shreveport, Louisiana\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shreveport,_Louisiana\">Shreveport, Louisiana<\/a>, U.S.<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Coaching career <span class=\"nowrap\">(1994\u2013present)<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\">\n<div class=\"nowrap\"><strong><a title=\"Venus Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Venus_Williams\">Venus Williams<\/a>, <a title=\"Serena Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Serena_Williams\">Serena Williams<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Coaching achievements<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Coachee Singles Titles total<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>49(V)-73(S) (122 titles)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-label\" scope=\"row\"><strong>Coachee(s) Doubles Titles total<\/strong><\/th>\n<td class=\"infobox-data\"><strong>21(S-V)-2(V)-5(S) (28 titles)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>List of notable tournaments<br \/>\n(with champion)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"plainlist\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Grand Slam (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grand_Slam_(tennis)#Career_Golden_Slam\">Career Golden Slam &#8211; Singles<\/a> (Serena)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>7\u00d7 <a title=\"Australian Open\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Australian_Open\">Australian Open<\/a> (Serena)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3\u00d7 <a title=\"French Open\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_Open\">French Open<\/a> (Serena)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>12\u00d7 <a title=\"The Championships, Wimbledon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Championships,_Wimbledon\">Wimbledon<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>8\u00d7 <a title=\"US Open (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/US_Open_(tennis)\">US Open<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2\u00d7 <a title=\"Tennis at the Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tennis_at_the_Summer_Olympics\">Olympic Gold Medal<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>6\u00d7 <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"WTA Tour Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WTA_Tour_Championships\">WTA Tour Championships<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>28\u00d7 <a title=\"WTA Tier I tournaments\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WTA_Tier_I_tournaments\">WTA Tier I<\/a>\/<a title=\"WTA Premier tournaments\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/WTA_Premier_tournaments\">Premier Mandatory\/Premier 5<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Grand Slam (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grand_Slam_(tennis)#Career_Golden_Slam\">Career Golden Slam &#8211; Doubles<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>4\u00d7 <a title=\"Australian Open\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Australian_Open\">Australian Open<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2\u00d7 <a title=\"French Open\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_Open\">French Open<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>5x <a title=\"The Championships, Wimbledon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Championships,_Wimbledon\">Wimbledon<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2\u00d7 <a title=\"US Open (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/US_Open_(tennis)\">US Open<\/a> (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3\u00d7 <a title=\"Tennis at the Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tennis_at_the_Summer_Olympics\">Olympic Gold Medal<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"1999 Fed Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1999_Fed_Cup\">Fed Cup<\/a> champions (Williams sisters)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>2\u00d7 <a title=\"Hopman Cup\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Hopman_Cup\">Hopman Cup<\/a> (Serena)<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Williams sisters\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Williams_sisters\">List of titles<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th class=\"infobox-header\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Coaching awards and records<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"infobox-full-data\" colspan=\"2\"><strong>Records<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"plainlist\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Venus Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Venus_Williams#Records_and_achievements\">Venus Williams \u00a7\u00a0Records and achievements<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a title=\"Serena Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Serena_Williams#Other_records_and_achievements\">Serena Williams \u00a7\u00a0Other records and achievements<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Richard Dove Williams Jr.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Williams_1-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> (born February 14, 1942) is an American <a title=\"Tennis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tennis\">tennis<\/a> coach and the father of <a title=\"Venus Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Venus_Williams\">Venus<\/a> and <a title=\"Serena Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Serena_Williams\">Serena Williams<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc\" class=\"toc\" role=\"navigation\" aria-labelledby=\"mw-toc-heading\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20258\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SERENA-AND-VENUS-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"207\" height=\"244\" \/><\/strong><\/div>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Early_life\" class=\"mw-headline\">Early life<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>William&#8217;s was one of five children<sup id=\"cite_ref-reveals_tough_3-0\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and the only son of Julia Mae Metcalf (died 1985) and Richard Dove Williams Sr. of <a title=\"Shreveport, Louisiana\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shreveport,_Louisiana\">Shreveport, Louisiana<\/a>. His younger sisters are Pat, Barbara, Penny, and Faye.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Williams_1-1\" class=\"reference\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Williams_(tennis_coach)#cite_note-Williams-1\">[1]<\/a><\/sup> For a time, the family resided on East 79th Street near railroad tracks.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Williams graduated from high school and moved to <a title=\"Saginaw, Michigan\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saginaw,_Michigan\">Saginaw, Michigan<\/a><sup id=\"cite_ref-reveals_tough_3-2\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> and eventually to California.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span id=\"Tennis_coaching\" class=\"mw-headline\">Tennis coaching<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<p><strong><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"thumbimage\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/61\/Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg\/200px-Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/61\/Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg\/300px-Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/6\/61\/Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg\/400px-Serena_Williams_embraces_Venus_Williams_as_Father_looks_on.jpg 2x\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"133\" data-file-width=\"2527\" data-file-height=\"1685\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\">\n<div class=\"magnify\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"thumb tleft\">\n<div class=\"thumbinner\">\n<div class=\"thumbcaption\"><strong>Williams with his daughters shortly after Serena Williams&#8217; victory in the <a title=\"2012 Wimbledon Championships\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2012_Wimbledon_Championships\">2012 Wimbledon Championships<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>He took tennis lessons from a man known as &#8220;Old Whiskey&#8221; and decided his future daughters would be tennis professionals when he saw <a title=\"Virginia Ruzici\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Virginia_Ruzici\">Virginia Ruzici<\/a> playing on television.<sup id=\"cite_ref-Edmondson_2-1\" class=\"reference\"><\/sup> Williams says that he wrote up an 85-page plan, and started giving lessons to Venus and Serena when they were four and a half, and began taking them to the public tennis courts. He would later add that he felt like he took them too early, and the age of six would have been more suitable. Soon he got them into Shreveport tennis tournaments. In 1995, Williams pulled them out of a tennis academy, and coached them himself.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Serena won the <a title=\"US Open (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/US_Open_(tennis)\">US Open<\/a> in 1999; Venus beat <a title=\"Lindsay Davenport\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lindsay_Davenport\">Lindsay Davenport<\/a> to win the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"2000 Wimbledon\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2000_Wimbledon\">2000 Wimbledon<\/a> title. After that victory, Richard shouted &#8220;<a title=\"Straight Outta Compton\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Straight_Outta_Compton\">Straight Outta Compton<\/a>!&#8221;, in reference to a song by <a title=\"N.W.A\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/N.W.A\">N.W.A<\/a> based in Compton, California, the same area in Los Angeles where the family once resided.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<h1 id=\"firstHeading\" class=\"firstHeading\">The Williams Sisters, &#8220;THE GREATEST OF TENNIS&#8221;<\/h1>\n<div id=\"bodyContent\" class=\"vector-body\">\n<div id=\"contentSub2\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"mw-content-text\" class=\"mw-body-content mw-content-ltr\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n<table class=\"box-Original_research plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Original_research\" role=\"presentation\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"mbox-image\">\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-14090\" src=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Venus-and-Serena-Williams-827475-300x178.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Venus-and-Serena-Williams-827475-300x178.jpg 300w, https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Venus-and-Serena-Williams-827475.jpg 590w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td class=\"mbox-text\">\n<div class=\"mbox-text-span\"><span class=\"hide-when-compact\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<table border=\"1.5\" width=\"350\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" align=\"right\">\n<caption><big><b>Venus and Serena<\/b><\/big><\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td colspan=\"3\" align=\"center\">\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr align=\"center\">\n<td><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/29\/Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg\/400px-Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/29\/Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg\/600px-Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/2\/29\/Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg\/800px-Venus_and_Serena_1993_and_2001.jpg 2x\" alt=\"Venus and Serena 1993 and 2001.jpg\" width=\"400\" height=\"282\" data-file-width=\"918\" data-file-height=\"648\" \/><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><b>Venus<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Serena<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Highest\u00a0singles<br \/>\nranking:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>No. 1<\/b><br \/>\n(February 25, 2002)<\/td>\n<td><b>No. 1<\/b><br \/>\n(July 8, 2002)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Highest\u00a0doubles<br \/>\nranking:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>No. 1<\/b><br \/>\n(June 7, 2010)<\/td>\n<td><b>No. 1<\/b><br \/>\n(June 7, 2010)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Women&#8217;s Singles\u00a0titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td>49<\/td>\n<td>73<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Women&#8217;s Doubles\u00a0titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td>22<\/td>\n<td>23<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Grand Slam<br \/>\nWomen&#8217;s Singles titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"nowrap\"><b>7<\/b><br \/>\n(Wimbledon 2000\/01\/05\/07\/08,<br \/>\nUS Open 2000\/01)<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span class=\"nowrap\"><b>23<\/b><br \/>\n(Aus Open 2003\/05\/07\/09\/10\/15\/17,<br \/>\nFrench Open 2002\/13\/15,<br \/>\nWimbledon 2002\/03\/09\/10\/12\/15\/16,<br \/>\nUS Open 1999\/2002\/08\/12\/13\/14)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Grand Slam<br \/>\nWomen&#8217;s Doubles titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>14<\/b><br \/>\n(Aus Open 2001\/03\/09\/10,<br \/>\nFrench Open 1999\/2010,<br \/>\nWimbledon 2000\/02\/08\/09\/12\/16,<br \/>\nUS Open 1999\/2009)<\/td>\n<td><b>14<\/b><br \/>\n(Aus Open 2001\/03\/09\/10,<br \/>\nFrench Open 1999\/2010,<br \/>\nWimbledon 2000\/02\/08\/09\/12\/16,<br \/>\nUS Open 1999\/2009)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Grand Slam Mixed<br \/>\nDoubles titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>2<\/b><br \/>\n(Aus Open 1998,<br \/>\nFrench Open 1998)<\/td>\n<td><b>2<\/b><br \/>\n(Wimbledon 1998,<br \/>\nUS Open 1998)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Summer Olympics<br \/>\nSingles titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gold_medal.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/20px-Gold_medal.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/30px-Gold_medal.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/40px-Gold_medal.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal.svg\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" data-file-width=\"296\" data-file-height=\"296\" \/><\/a> <b>Gold<\/b> (Sydney 2000)<\/td>\n<td><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gold_medal.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/20px-Gold_medal.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/30px-Gold_medal.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/40px-Gold_medal.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal.svg\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" data-file-width=\"296\" data-file-height=\"296\" \/><\/a> <b>Gold<\/b> (London 2012)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Summer Olympics<br \/>\nDoubles titles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gold_medal.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/20px-Gold_medal.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/30px-Gold_medal.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/40px-Gold_medal.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal.svg\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" data-file-width=\"296\" data-file-height=\"296\" \/><\/a> <b>Gold<\/b> (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012)<\/td>\n<td><a class=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gold_medal.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/20px-Gold_medal.svg.png\" srcset=\"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/30px-Gold_medal.svg.png 1.5x, \/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/1\/15\/Gold_medal.svg\/40px-Gold_medal.svg.png 2x\" alt=\"Gold medal.svg\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" data-file-width=\"296\" data-file-height=\"296\" \/><\/a> <b>Gold<\/b> (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Fed Cup<br \/>\ntitles:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>1<\/b><br \/>\n(1999)<\/td>\n<td><b>1<\/b><br \/>\n(1999)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Plays:<\/b><\/td>\n<td>Right-handed<br \/>\n(two-handed backhand)<\/td>\n<td>Right-handed<br \/>\n(two-handed backhand)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Career Earnings:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>$42,173,992<\/b> (2nd)<\/td>\n<td><b>$94,453,854<\/b> (1st)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>The Williams sisters are two professional American <a title=\"Tennis\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tennis\">tennis<\/a> players: <a title=\"Venus Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Venus_Williams\">Venus Williams<\/a> (b. 1980), a seven-time <a title=\"Grand Slam (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grand_Slam_(tennis)\">Grand Slam<\/a> title winner (singles), and <a title=\"Serena Williams\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Serena_Williams\">Serena Williams<\/a> (b. 1981), twenty-three-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents <a title=\"Richard Williams (tennis coach)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Williams_(tennis_coach)\">Richard Williams<\/a> and <a title=\"Oracene Price\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oracene_Price\">Oracene Price<\/a>. There is a <a title=\"Williams sisters rivalry\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Williams_sisters_rivalry\">noted professional rivalry<\/a> between them\u2014 between the <a title=\"2001 US Open \u2013 Women's Singles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2001_US_Open_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Singles\">2001 US Open<\/a> and the <a title=\"2017 Australian Open \u2013 Women's Singles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2017_Australian_Open_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Singles\">2017 Australian Open<\/a> tournaments, they met in nine Grand Slam singles finals. They became the first two players, female or male, to play in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals from the <a title=\"2002 French Open \u2013 Women's Singles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2002_French_Open_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Singles\">2002 French Open<\/a> to the <a title=\"2003 Australian Open \u2013 Women's Singles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2003_Australian_Open_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Singles\">2003 Australian Open<\/a>; Serena famously won all four to complete the first of two &#8220;Serena Slams&#8221;. Between 2000 and 2016, a 17-year span, they collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles (Venus won five, and Serena won seven). By winning the 2001 Australian Open women&#8217;s doubles title, they became the fifth pair to complete the Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to complete the Career Doubles Golden Slam. At the time, Venus and Serena were only 20 and 19 years old, respectively. Since then, they have gone on to add another two Olympic gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. Nearly a decade later, the duo would go on to win four consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles from 2009 Wimbledon through 2010 Roland Garros, which would catapult them to <a title=\"List of WTA number 1 ranked tennis players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_WTA_number_1_ranked_tennis_players#Doubles\">co-No. 1 doubles players<\/a> on 7 June 2010. Two weeks later, on 21 June 2010, Serena would hold the No. 1 singles ranking, and Venus would be right behind her at No. 2 in singles. Their most recent Grand Slam doubles titles came at the <a title=\"2012 Wimbledon Championships \u2013 Women's Doubles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2012_Wimbledon_Championships_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Doubles\">2012 Wimbledon<\/a> and <a title=\"2016 Wimbledon Championships \u2013 Women's Doubles\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2016_Wimbledon_Championships_%E2%80%93_Women%27s_Doubles\">2016 Wimbledon<\/a> events. They remain very close, often watching each other&#8217;s matches in support, even after one of them has been knocked out of a tournament.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Both sisters have been ranked by the <a title=\"Women's Tennis Association\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Women%27s_Tennis_Association\">Women&#8217;s Tennis Association<\/a> at the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"List of WTA number 1 ranked players\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_WTA_number_1_ranked_players\">world No. 1<\/a> position in both singles and doubles. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus Williams and Serena Williams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, marking the first time in history that sisters occupied the top 2 singles spots in the world rankings. During the <a title=\"2010 French Open\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2010_French_Open\">2010 French Open<\/a>, they became the co-world No. 1 players in women&#8217;s doubles. On 21 June 2010, Serena and Venus again held the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings spots in singles, respectively, some eight years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Serena was three months shy of her 29th birthday and Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Both players have won four gold medals at the <a title=\"Tennis at the Summer Olympics\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tennis_at_the_Summer_Olympics\">Summer Olympics<\/a>, one each in singles and three in doubles\u2014all won together\u2014the most of any tennis players. Venus has also won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a duo, they have also completed the <a class=\"mw-redirect\" title=\"Career Golden Slam\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Career_Golden_Slam#Career_Golden_Slam\">Career Golden Slam<\/a> in doubles, twice. Between the two of them, they have completed the <a title=\"Grand Slam (tennis)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grand_Slam_(tennis)#Boxed_Set\">Boxed Set<\/a>, winning all four grand slams in singles, women&#8217;s doubles, and mixed doubles. They won all of the mixed doubles titles in 1998 to go along with their titles in singles and women&#8217;s doubles.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"single__header\">\n<header class=\"article-header\">\n<h1 class=\"headline headline--single\"><strong>Serena and Venus\u2019 dad raised champs using these \u2018unorthodox\u2019 methods<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-header__meta\" aria-label=\"Byline\"><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"featured-image featured-image__wrapper m-top\">\n<figure class=\"featured-image__figure\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"featured-image__img wp-image-20163981\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=712\" sizes=\"(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1424 1424w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1068 1068w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=712 712w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=356 356w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-06.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w\" alt=\"Venus, Richard and Serena Williams in 1991\" width=\"712\" height=\"496\" \/><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams (in 1991) coached his daughters Venus (left) and Serena to tennis greatness.\u00a0<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"single__content entry-content m-bottom \">\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--primary-tag\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__content\">\n<ul class=\"inline-module__list\">\n<li class=\"story story--list\">\n<h3 class=\"story__headline headline headline--xxs\"><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Just after a 14-year-old Venus Williams had turned pro in 1994 \u2014 at the very beginning of a legendary tennis career that would lead to the No. 1 ranking and seven Grand Slam titles \u2014 an ABC News reporter pressed the young phenom on why she was \u201cvery confident\u201d about beating her next opponent.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cLet me tell you why,\u201d interjected her father Richard Williams, abruptly interrupting the interview and proceeding to get in the reporter\u2019s face. \u201cWhen she say something, we done told you what\u2019s happening. You\u2019re dealing with a little black kid, and let her be a kid. She done answered with a lot of confidence. Leave that alone!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s a fierce fatherly shutdown depicted in \u201cKing Richard,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/07\/28\/king-richard-trailer-will-smith-reigns-as-williams-sisters-dad\/\">the new film starring Will Smith as Richard Williams<\/a>, which opens Friday in theaters and on <a href=\"https:\/\/trk.hbomax.com\/aff_c?offer_id=5&amp;aff_id=1020&amp;source=nyp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">HBO Max<\/a>. The movie traces how Williams challenged \u2014 and changed \u2014 tennis with his vision and mission for his daughters Venus and Serena to take over the sport. With both daughters rising up from the streets of Compton, California, to reach No. 1 \u2014 and Serena, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2017\/01\/28\/serena-williams-defeats-sister-venus-for-record-23rd-grand-slam\/\">winning 23 Grand Slam titles<\/a>, becoming who many consider to be the greatest player of all time \u2014 their father was both a genius and a polarizing figure in breaking racial barriers and the norms of the tennis establishment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164066\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-08.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Demi Singleton, Will Smith and Saniyya Sidney in &quot;King Richard&quot;\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Will Smith stars as Richard Williams in \u201cKing Richard,\u201d with Demi Singleton (left) and Saniyya Sidney playing Serena and Venus.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>\u201cI think Richard was ahead of his time,\u201d \u201cKing Richard\u201d director Reinaldo Marcus Green told The Post. \u201cThe kinds of things that he was thinking about in protecting his daughters from certain things \u2026 He did things that were unorthodox, and I think it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cNo question it took the establishment some time to get used to Richard Williams,\u201d said Tennis Channel commentator and Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, who also wrote\u00a0the 2001 book <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Venus-Envy-Sensational-Season-Inside\/dp\/0060197749?tag=nypost-20&amp;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/16\/how-richard-williams-turned-venus-and-serena-into-tennis-legends\/&amp;asc_source=web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\" data-ga-event=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;affiliate ecommerce click&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;amazon&quot;,&quot;label&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Venus-Envy-Sensational-Season-Inside\/dp\/0060197749?tag=nypost-20&amp;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/16\/how-richard-williams-turned-venus-and-serena-into-tennis-legends\/&amp;asc_source=web&quot;}\" data-orig-url=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Venus-Envy-Sensational-Season-Inside\/dp\/0060197749?tag=nypost-20&amp;asc_refurl=https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/16\/how-richard-williams-turned-venus-and-serena-into-tennis-legends\/&amp;asc_source=web\" data-ml-id=\"0\" data-ml=\"true\" data-xid=\"fr1637294830398dhg\">\u201cVenus Envy\u201d<\/a> that covered an early season in the Williams sisters\u2019 careers. \u201cHe was a colorful, extreme figure. There were not tennis parents before him that danced on the commentary booth or that held up provocative signs, and it was jarring.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164119\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Serena-US-Open-1999-03.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Richard and Serena Williams at the US Open in 1999\" width=\"1024\" height=\"783\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams celebrates with daughter Serena after she won her first US Open in 1999.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>But Kamau Murray \u2014 who coached another black tennis star, Sloane Stephens, to the 2017 US Open and is the founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.xstennis.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">XS Tennis<\/a>, a black-owned academy in Chicago \u2014 said that behind \u201cthe Richard Williams show\u201d was a man with a brilliant plan for Venus and Serena. \u201cThey would have not made it if he was not pushing and then protecting, and then pushing and then protecting,\u201d he said. \u201cThey would not have made it. \u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p><strong>Inspired by watching Romanian player Virginia Ruzici pocket $20,000 for winning the 1978 French Open, Williams came up with a 78-page plan for Venus and Serena to make it out of Compton \u2014 where they grew up sharing bunkbeds with three half sisters in one room \u2014 and conquer the tennis world. Although he had no formal training \u2014 aside from the tennis magazines that he read \u2014 he and his then-wife Oracene taught their daughters themselves. Eventually, Williams quit his job as a security guard to coach Venus and Serena full time while Oracene supported the family.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Williams had an innate belief in his own coaching ability and methods. \u201cHe\u2019s a very smart person, and very smart people can look at somebody do something and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, I can do it better,\u2019 \u201d said Murray. But, he added, \u201che was great at realizing when he needed some help, when he needed some of the nuances and some of the expertise of somebody [else].\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164137\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=683\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1366 1366w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=683 683w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-08.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w\" alt=\"Richard and Venus Williams in 1990\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams gives daughter Venus a playful break from her tennis training in 1990.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Williams made the controversial decision for Venus and her younger sister Serena to stop playing junior tennis, bypassing the usual breeding grounds for the pro tour. \u201cIt was very unusual, so [it was] met with skepticism because nobody had really chosen that path before,\u201d said longtime ESPN tennis commentator Pam Shriver, who, as the former No. 3 player in the world, was Venus\u2019 first tour mentor. \u201cBecause they weren\u2019t hung up on results or rankings, they could just develop their game.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Playing by his own rules, Williams emphasized the importance of education and having fun as kids, even as he made bold \u2014 and, to many, wild \u2014 predictions about his daughters\u2019 future dominance after yanking them from the junior circuit. Said Wertheim: \u201cIt\u2019s literally like, \u2018I\u2019m gonna raise my kid and teach him to be the heavyweight champion of the world. And he\u2019s not going to do Golden Gloves \u2014 I\u2019ve got my own methods.\u2019 And damn if he didn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p><strong>With his brash talk and what some perceived to be a self-promoting bravado, Williams had his doubters and detractors as he gave a culture shock to the predominantly white tennis establishment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Richard-Wimbledon-sign-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164217\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Richard-Wimbledon-sign-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Richard-Wimbledon-sign-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Richard-Wimbledon-sign-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/Richard-Wimbledon-sign-02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Richard Williams at Wimbledon in 2000\" width=\"1024\" height=\"686\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams holds up a sign saying \u201cIt\u2019s Venus\u2019 party and no one was invited\u201d after his daughter won her first Wimbledon in 2000.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>\u201cThis sport can be very cruel to black people in country clubs,\u201d said Murray, who is also now a commentator on the Tennis Channel. \u201cAnd the thing about tennis \u2014 it\u2019s subtle cruelty. It\u2019s not obvious, and it\u2019s not overt. And a lot of times those things can be the most damaging.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>In fact, Green said, Williams took on a lot of the underlying racial tension to protect his daughters from it. \u201cI think part of the genius of Richard Williams was embracing that and taking the pressure in a lot of ways off the girls,\u201d he said<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164295\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/King-Richard-Movie-04.jpeg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Demi Singleton, Saniyya Sidney and Will Smith in &quot;King Richard&quot;\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>The new film \u201cKing Richard\u201d traces how Richard Williams (Will Smith) took Serena (Demi Singleton) and Venus (Saniyya Sidney) from Compton to Wimbledon.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>After Venus <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2000\/07\/07\/sisterly-love-match-venus-wins-both-leave-court-in-tears\/\">won her first of five Wimbledons in 2000<\/a>, Williams celebrated in a way that the stodgy, strawberries-and-cream All England Club had never seen before, jumping up and down with a handwritten sign that read, \u201cIt\u2019s Venus\u2019 party and no one was invited.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWimbledon 2000 was a wild time,\u201d said Wertheim of Williams bucking tennis etiquette at its oldest and most traditional tournament. \u201cEveryone was talking about Richard Williams jumping up and down, but it took some of the pressure off of Venus and Serena. I think his attitude was, \u2018Look, if I\u2019m the lightning rod but it takes some of the burden off of my daughters, bring it on!\u2019 So I think it was really effective in a way.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-22.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164387\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-22.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-22.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-22.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-22.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Richard Williams at the 1999 Lipton Championships\" width=\"1024\" height=\"969\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams holds up a sign saying \u201cWelcome to the Williams show\u201d at the 1999 Lipton Champions, where Venus beat Serena in the final.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>And, although Williams probably had some in the Royal Box clutching their pearls on that memorable day at Wimbledon, Shriver said that it was progress. \u201cAt the time, it was shocking to some people,\u201d she said. \u201cBut at the same time it started to usher in an amazing era of diversity and more inclusion and tolerance for differences in the end.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p><strong>While there had been some black tennis players on tour before the Williams sisters \u2014 including pioneering Grand Slam champions Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe \u2014 what Richard Williams started on the streets of Compton changed the game.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cTennis looks a lot different today, and I would say in some ways is in a much better place,\u201d said Wertheim. \u201cAnd I give the Williams family a lot of credit for that.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Venus, 41, and Serena, 40, are still playing 22 years after the younger sister won the first Williams family slam title at the 1999 US Open. Wertheim believes that their longevity comes from the foundation that their father gave them: \u201cI mean, what does it say about the technique he imparted, what does it say about the mental skills he gave them, that they\u2019re still out there?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-20164452\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=2048 2048w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/serena-venue-richard-archival-15.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" alt=\"Richard Williams at the US Open in 2001\" width=\"1024\" height=\"689\" \/><\/a><\/strong><figcaption><strong>Richard Williams takes photos during his daughter Serena\u2019s semifinal victory at the US Open in 2001.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>But Green said that Williams clearly raised his daughters to be winners off the tennis court as well. \u201cWhen you think about Venus and Serena, their legacy will be far greater than being tennis players,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have so much more to give, and I think [that\u2019s] because of that training, because of how they were raised.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>While Williams \u2014 who, at 79, is <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2017\/06\/15\/serena-williams-75-year-old-dad-divorcing-38-year-old-wife\/\">reportedly in poor health after suffering a series of strokes<\/a> \u2014 hasn\u2019t appeared at a major tournament to watch Venus and Serena in years, his job was done a long time ago. \u201cThe love, the commitment that he gave to those girls was paramount,\u201d said Green. \u201cAnd how much admiration that they still have for their father to this day is incredible.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"floatingShare\">\n<div class=\"floating-share-wrap single__floating-share opaque attached\">\n<div class=\"floating-share sharedaddy\" data-component=\"socialShare\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Will Smith hosted Serena and Venus Williams as well as their sisters and mother for an episode of &#8220;Red Table Talk.&#8221; Will Smith hosted Venus and Serena Williams as well as their mom and sisters on &#8220;Red Table Talk.&#8221; The appearance was the family&#8217;s first-ever interview as a full family. In an exclusive clip, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,11,8,1314,2432,1456,1156,13,14,1,1282,12,7,17,9,10],"tags":[1224,4063,4867,4043,4042,4044,4045,4869,4870,4868,4056,4054,4050,4047,4866,4057,4055,4049,4052,4053,4046,4041,4051,4048],"class_list":["post-23183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-gamers","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-most-commented","category-news","category-olympics","category-scitech","category-sports","category-tennis","category-us","category-world","tag-serenawilliams","tag-venuseswilliams","tag-4867","tag-2002-highest-doubles-ranking-no-1-june-7","tag-2002-no-1-july-8","tag-2010-no-1-june-7","tag-2010-womens-singles-titles-49-73-womens-doubles-titles-22-23-grand-slam-womens-singles-titles-7-wimbledon-2000-01-05-07-08","tag-4869","tag-854-1st","tag-992-2nd-94","tag-beijing-2008","tag-french-open-1998-2-wimbledon-1998","tag-french-open-1999-2010","tag-french-open-2002-13-15","tag-london-2012-fed-cup-titles-1-1999-1-1999-plays-right-handed-two-handed-backhand-right-handed-two-handed-backhand-career-earnings-42","tag-london-2012-gold-medal-svg-gold-sydney-2000","tag-us-open-1998-summer-olympics-singles-titles-gold-medal-svg-gold-sydney-2000-gold-medal-svg-gold-london-2012-summer-olympics-doubles-titles-gold-medal-svg-gold-sydney-2000","tag-us-open-1999-2002-08-12-13-14-grand-slam-womens-doubles-titles-14-aus-open-2001-03-09-10","tag-us-open-1999-2009-14-aus-open-2001-03-09-10","tag-us-open-1999-2009-grand-slam-mixed-doubles-titles-2-aus-open-1998","tag-us-open-2000-01-23-aus-open-2003-05-07-09-10-15-17","tag-venus-and-serena-venus-and-serena-1993-and-2001-jpg-venus-serena-highest-singles-ranking-no-1-february-25","tag-wimbledon-2000-02-08-09-12-16","tag-wimbledon-2002-03-09-10-12-15-16","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}