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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)
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)
Richard Williams has shaped the careers of two tennis legends and his daughter Venus and Serena Williams. He trained them in the initial stages of their careers rigorously and worked on their improvement.
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This all happened at the place where the sisters grew up, which was in Compton. Richard Williams shared his views on why he moved to Compton and how it shaped the crucial initial years of his two daughters.
Richard Williams’ decision to move to Compton
He talked in an interview about his decision to move to Compton. The host asked him about the assumptions that are surrounded by his move to that place. He clarified it and told what his wife felt all about it.
He said, “Matter of fact, my wife was upset. (She said) I am not gonna move overnight. Well, she didn’t know about cops. I am not gonna move and the kids are not gonna move. What she saw, over there, young guys shooting each other and selling drugs and prostitution.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Will Smith Shows How King Richard Cast Trained Like Serena and Venus Williams
What happened further on was narrated by him. He said, “I said no no; you don’t have to move, just come visit over there. I moved over there. She took Venus, Serena, and three other kids here before I met her and moved to Michigan. That’s how Serena got born in Michigan.”
Lessons imbibed upon Venus and Serena Williams
Father of Venus and Serena Williams then elaborated on his decision to move to Compton.
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1992: Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams ride with their father Richard Williams at a tennis camp in Florida. Mandatory Credit: Ken Levine /Allsport
He stated, “I taught kids. What do you expect from yourself? If you stand up and live a life that you should live, you can be a president like Obama. You can be like Mr. Raegan. You can do what you wanna do and be like Churchill, but if you give in to anything and fear, your life was wasted.”
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16 Jan 1998: Teenage tennis sisters from America, Venus (left) and Serena Williams take time off a practise session to pose together during the Adidas International event at White City in Sydney, Australia. Mandatory Credit: Clive Brunskill/Allsport
To live a fearless life, Richard Williams imbibed all these values in his daughters that made them strong enough to face any opponent boldly. This led to both the sisters become world no. 1 players at some point their careers. The movie, ‘King Richard’ depicts the role Richard Williams played in shaping the careers of his daughters.
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READ MORE: Tennis Legend Says It Took Him 2 Days to Digest Rafael Nadal’s 14th French Open Victory
Venus and Serena Williams have been resilient and bold on the court. To face the opponent head on is a characteristic trait of both the sisters. Both the sisters have made the best use of these qualities. This has evidently made them two of the best tennis players in the world.
