Serena Williams’ Florida Based House to Be Sold Owing to Bankruptcy of Richard Williams’ Estranged Wife

Venus and Serena Williams started their journey in tennis under the watchful eye of their father, Richard Williams, who trained them in their backyard court. However, now the place that holds some of the best memories of the duo is in ruins.

The Williams family’s Florida-based home is about to land on the bidding table. The four-bedroom house worth around 1.45 million dollars is destined to be sold within 14 days.

Farewell to the Williams sisters’ first home

The house holds a long and twisted history. The family lost ownership of the house when Richard allegedly gave it to his estranged wife Lakeisha for a mere 10 bucks. The 80-year-old is still adamant that his ex-wife used fraudulent methods to acquire the property. In fact, he filed a case against Lakeisha, accusing her of forging his signature on the title deeds.

Now, the Florida-based house is under the hands of the ‘hard lender’ David Simon. Simon loaned Lakeisha a sum of $279,000, which she spent on a failed trucking business. Consequently, the property is now up for sale, with the majority of proceeds going to the lender, who is owed $513,213.67, including interest.

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Even though Richard’s ex-wife filed for bankruptcy, her claims were dismissed in court. It was the final nail in the coffin for the house, which Richard bought in 1995 for $355,000 with Serena’s mom, Oracene Price.

Venus and Serena Williams’ story

Both Serena and Venus were nurtured by their father, Richard Williams, during the early stages of their tennis careers. Later, when they moved to Compton, California, and proved their prowess in some of the junior tournaments, the world-renowned coach Rick Macci joined their camp.

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Under the guidance of Macci, the Williams sisters developed into world-beaters and started to dominate the WTA tour. To date, the former world no.1s have won a combined total of 30 Grand Slam singles titles.