Compton to the courts

In 2001, Serena and Venus Williams became the first sisters to reach a Grand Slam final since Maud Watson defeated Lillian Watson in 1884. Today, Serena is a grand slam away from tying the all time record of 24 and is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, while Venus’ 7 grand slams sees her ranked 12th. Their father, Richard, was dedicated to making them tennis stars after watching a match on TV and being amazed at the prize money. He taught himself the game, wrote a 78 page plan and started practicing with his young daughters on the public court in Compton. The court had potholes, dim lighting and incidents in the area included hearing random gunshots from the street gangs while training. This was a depiction of their tough environment and the conditions they had to overcome; a situation that could have made most people give up on their dreams.

Richard contacted Rick Macci in 1991 to watch the sisters, who had now started gaining national attention. The Williams family then moved to Florida to train at the Macci Tennis Academy, which was potentially a big opportunity for their careers. My admiration for Richard was his relentless dedication as a parent to their success, and he was also against the conventional route of them playing junior tournaments which had its own pressures. The sisters were exposed to racism early, which was partly due to tennis lacking racial diversity. They left the academy about four years after joining, and were now coached by both Richard and their mother; Oracene Price. The sisters both turned professional at the age of 14, and their years of training and dedication has since paid off.

Their story to me presents the possibilities that can be achieved with the help of supportive parents or guardians, and also having a plan. They were also protected from early doubters, an example was when a reporter interviewed Venus and questioned her confidence; to which Richard intervened in defence of his daughter. The Williams put in hours of work, and did not let their early environment determine their future. In 2016, they gave back to Compton by opening a community centre which could open doors for others to thrive.