
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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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)
Today, the entire world is set to celebrate Father’s Day. While tennis has seen a number of fathers with their children on the court, the undoubted favorite remains Serena Williams and Richard Williams. The 40-year-old Williams is one of the most successful players in the history of the sport. However, a major contributor to her massive success is her father and first coach, Richard.

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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)
Celebrating the tennis bond between the two, in 2018, Nike released an advertisement for Serena at the US Open and it makes up for a perfect tribute to the legendary parent on Father’s Day.
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Celebrating the bond of Serena Williams and King Richard
Released in 2018, the commercial features a compilation of Serena Williams‘ US Open campaigns in the past years. However, what makes the ad stand out from others is the use of home video of a 9-year-old Serena Williams with her father. The video of the two reportedly dates back to August 1991.

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WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND – JULY 02: Richard Williams and Lakeisha Graham applaud as Serena Williams of USA competes during the women’s singles semi final match against Elena Dementieva of Russia on Day Ten of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 2, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
The one-minute ad film starts with Richard motivating a 9-year-old Serena. “This is you at the US Open. The service motion,” asserts Richard. The video moves ahead with cut-to-cut compilation of Serena playing at the US Open. The compilation features moments like Serena hitting a backhand, running for a forehand, approaching the net, etc.
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However, despite all the flashbacks of Serena at the US Open, the USP of the advertisement becomes Richard Williams’ voice in the background as it’s added majorly to give a feel of him coaching Serena.
“Very good. Keep that perfect service motion you have, switch to the backhand, lean in to it, good follow through, take the net, nice try, and make sure you control that ball on every shot,” these are the words of Richard.
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FIRST LOOK: @Nike debuts outstanding ad using home video of nine-year-old @serenawilliams with father Richard from August 29, 1991 pic.twitter.com/EQRKE6Xka6
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 27, 2018
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Watch this story- Top Five Best Serena Williams Outfits of All Time
As mentioned earlier, Richard has a major role in Serena’s success as a tennis player. Today, Serena isn’t coached by her father. However, in her gracious career, the 23-time major champion has made sure to stand up to her father’s expectations and live the dream he saw for her.
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