Richard Williams
#30306 Most Popular
About
Father and coach of the tennis duo Venus and Serena Williams. In 2021, famous actor Will Smith brought attention to him when he portrayed in the film King Richard.
Before Fame
He decided to make his daughters into tennis stars after seeing the great Romanian player Virginia Ruzici on TV.
Trivia
He took his daughters out of a tennis academy at a young age to teach them himself instead. When Serena won her first U.S. Open in 1999 he did a victory dance in the NBC broadcast booth.
Family Life
He was married to Berry Johnson from 1965 to 1973 and they had two daughters and three sons. He then married Oracene Price, the mother of Serena and Venus, in 1980. He and Oracene divorced in 2002.
Associated With
He often noted the press interviews that tennis is still an overwhelmingly white sport, and his daughter Venus Williams was the first black woman to be ranked #1.
