‘Not Afraid to Be Themselves’ – ‘King Richard’ Actor Reflects on the Great Honor of Portraying Venus Williams and Sasha Obama On-Screen

The movie ‘King Richard’ encompasses the struggles and achievements of Serena and Venus Williams from their father’s perspective. It was a mega-success both in terms of box office earnings and awards.

Recently, the actress who played Venus Williams sat down for an interview with Teen Vogue. There, she spoke about how she prepared herself for portraying the legend and how the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s story has helped her grow.

Venus’ impact on Saniyya Sidney

The 15-year-old actress who performed the part of a young Venus Williams said, “Oh, man. Something that I love so much is getting to prepare for those roles. I focus on doing good research. For Venus (Williams), I think I studied anything and everything about her. But I fell in love with who she is, and I fell in love with who Sasha (Obama) was and how just free they were.”

Thereafter, she added, “They were not afraid to be themselves. You know what I’m saying? They had such an amazing team around them and great parents. So, there are so many similarities. It wasn’t really hard just to fall in love with who they were.”

Read more: Who Is More Successful- Serena or Venus Williams?

Saniyya Sidney will soon portray Sasha Obama, the daughter of former US president Barack Obama, in the upcoming movie ‘The First Lady’ alongside the renowned American actress Viola Davis.

Whwn will Venus Williams return to the tour?

With the recent announcement from the former World No.1’s coach, the chances of seeing her in the grass swing have decreased even further. Eric Hechtman took to Instagram to inform tennis fans that he will travel alongside Serena Williams for the upcoming grass based tournaments.

Watch this story: How many Williams sisters are there besides Venus and Serena Williams

Hechtman has been training Venus since 2019 and as Serena‘s coach of almost 10 years, Patrick Mouratoglou has joined hands with Simona Halep for the grass-court season; though the duration of this partnership is still unclear. Do you think the American legend will return to the tour this season?