The Story of a Tennis Champion
Skill Development Expert Profile — Serena Williams
Richard Williams was watching a tennis match on television. He wasn’t even really paying attention. That was until the game was over and they were giving the young winner a $40 000 check because she had won the tournament.
‘I figured since I worked for $52 000 a year, and this girl made $40 000 in four days, I was in the wrong business.’ -Richard Williams
Richard had never picked up a racket in his life, and his children weren’t even born. But he still sat down and wrote an 86 page plan of how his daughters would become the best tennis players in the world. He bought a book, learned how to teach and decided to make his kids champions. His next two children were both girls, Venus and Serena Williams.
Growing up in Compton
“Two black girls from Compton probably weren’t supposed to play tennis, let alone be very good at it.” — Serena Williams
The Williams family were living in Compton, just outside of Los Angeles, in one of the tougher neighbourhoods of the country. Not exactly a place that’s known for producing many tennis professionals. Richard was often in arguments with gang members over…
