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CARLSBAD, CA – AUGUST 3: Richard Williams, father of Venus Williams, watches as she competes against Anna Chakvetadze of Russia during the Day 5 match of the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa August 3, 2007 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
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CARLSBAD, CA – AUGUST 3: Richard Williams, father of Venus Williams, watches as she competes against Anna Chakvetadze of Russia during the Day 5 match of the Acura Classic at the La Costa Resort and Spa August 3, 2007 in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
There has been another twist in the story concerning Venus and Serena Williams’ father, Richard Williams’ Florida-based house in Palm Beach Gardens. According to recent news, Richard’s estranged wife, Lakeisha Williams, filed another case trying for the bankruptcy to be reinstated.
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Earlier, Lakeisha filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy case, as the Florida-based house was about to go on auction. After losing that battle, she filed another case just before the house was about to go for sale.
Richard Williams’ estranged wife wants the case reinstated
In 2009, Richard married Lakeisha, his third wife and then filed for a divorce in 2017. Even after filing the divorce, Lakeisha continued to stay in the House in Florida. Allegedly, she bought the house from Richard for just $10, which Richard denied. After failing to pay the mortgage, the house was set to be auctioned on 18th February this year.
However, she filed a chapter 13 bankruptcy case just one day before the auction. During the hearing, she asked the judge to give her time to pay the debt, which she could not fulfill. As a result, on July 5, the court dismissed her bankruptcy case and put the house up for sale. After the verdict, she had 14 days to give a response, which she did. Recently, she appealed the court’s decision, as she wants the case to be reinstated. As per Lakeisha, she now has the money to pay the installments on a monthly basis.
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372178 05: FILE PHOTO: Richard Williams practices with his daughter, Serena in 1991 in Compton, CA. Serena and Venus Williams will be playing against each other for the first time July 6, 2000 in the tennis semifinals at Wimbledon. (Photo by Online USA)
Meanwhile, Richard will still lose the house, either way. Notably, he filed for a lawsuit for around $1 million against his estranged wife during the bankruptcy case, which the judge dismissed.
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The house where Venus and Serena Williams started their journey as tennis players
Although both Venus and Serena spent their early childhood in the city of Compton, they moved to Florida to start their journey to be on the professional tour. In 1995, Venus and Serena’s mother, Oracene, and father, Richard, bought the house in Palm Beach Gardens for $355,000.
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via Getty
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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In Florida, both Venus and Serena trained under the Hall of Famer coach, Rick Macci. With Richard, Oracene, and Macci on their side, the Williams sisters made an immediate impact on the tour. Even though they played very less junior tournaments, Venus reached the US Open final in 1997, at just 17 years old. Two years later, Serena won her first ever Grand Slam title at the US Open.
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