“I never saw two girls try so hard, there was something inside these kids,” former coach Rick Macci speaks on Venus and Serena Williams’ resilience
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Rick Macci with Venus and Serena Williams
Former American player and coach Rick Macci has followed the rise of Venus and Serena Williams and was one of their first coaches. The American coach recently shared anecdotes to Tennis Channel about the Williams sisters, who are now tennis legends currently having achieved huge accolades in the sport.
Macci also shared his thoughts about the new film King Richard. It is a biopic on Venus and Serena’s father Richard Williams and his contribution to making his daughters household names in tennis. The film also has Ricci in a pivotal role as he shared how good it was for him to groom the Williams sisters during their early stages.
Macci recalled how he took Serena and Venus Williams under his wing and how he considers them to be his own daughters. He shared how he and Richard Williams made it their mission to mold them into successful tennis players.
“It was incredible because it was one of the best times in my life,” Rick Macci said. “I took a big chance, Venus and Serena are like my own daughters. Richard is my best friend. So to see this come out in a movie it was incredible. It brought back so many memories, Richard and I were on a mission that wasn’t going to be denied. Rest is history.”
The American coach felt that the film, King Richard was a masterpiece and revealed how the storyline is totally authentic. He feels that the film has rightly received six Oscar nominations.
Former coach Rick Macci reminisces the early years of training with Venus and Serena Williams
Macci then reminisced the time when he met the Williams for the first time. He revealed how Richard Williams wanted him to fly down to Compton, California to see Venus and Serena. Macci revealed how Richard Williams interview him extensively before making him their coach. Richard was not there just looking for a tennis coach, he wanted someone to have that personal influence before taking upon his daughters’ dreams.
“When I got this call from Richard, we started talking,” Rick Macci said. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to go see this little kid, she was in the The New York Times, undefeated in under-10s’. So I flew to Compton. That night Richard, Oracene, Venus and Serena came to the hotel. Richard pulls out a piece of paper and this guy grilled me for like an hour. If he was going to let someone in their circle, he wanted a role model a father figure plus someone who’s been there and done that.”
Macci continued on how his influence yielded results for the Williams sisters. He highlighted how their footwork improved and he was highly impressed with their dedication and work ethic.
“Then we started playing competitive points and the whole landscape changed,” Macci said. “The footwork got better, everything changed once I said game on. And it blew me away. I never saw two little girls try so hard. There was a rage. There was something inside in these kids.”
Macci recalled how he once jokingly compared Venus Williams with Michael Jordan but Richard was always confident that Serena would get to that level too.
“I have a lot of kids that try hard. But this was different. Right then and there I told Richard, this was about Venus, that ‘you got the next female Michael Jordan on your hands’. He puts his arm around me and goes ‘No brother man, I got the next two,” Macci concluded.
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Atrayo Bhattacharya
(193 Articles Published)