‘Wimbledon?’ Rick Macci drops a major Venus Williams retirement bomb, reveals when the American icon will hang her boots
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A FirstSportz exclusive with Serena and Venus Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci.
Question– Serena is done with tennis but Venus is older than Serena. And yet, she hasn’t shown any signs of playing but she hasn’t announced her retirement yet. Any information on when the announcement is coming?
I don’t have any inside information but in my opinion, and so far my opinion on a lot of these things well before it has happened has been right about the comeback and all these things. I think Serena and Venus are still gonna play doubles. I think they’ll pack the house and I think they’ll still play mixed doubles. They can cover half the court, they still got great serves and brutal returns.
And let’s face it, you don’t think that everybody would want to see them play doubles? If they get a wild card in Wimbledon doubles or anything z that’ll be great. Regarding Venus, I think she’ll do the same as Serena and she’ll let it go. I think she’ll do it next year at the US Open. I think she’ll have the same roadmap and the same blueprint as Serena, announce her retirement and there will be deja vu all over again.
When people ask me about Venus, they’re really surprised. To this day, I still believe Venus could’ve been a better player. This is what people don’t understand, she had gifts from above that Serena didn’t- long arms, she could jump higher than anyone on the WTA Tour, she was the next Michael Jordan but she changed her game a little bit when she got into the pros. When I had her up until 15, she used to take the second serve and come to the net. I thought she was going to play a different style but when you get out there on the tour, things change.
‘Venus Williams is the second-greatest female tennis player of all time’: Rick Macci
Rick continues: They’re both amazing. Out of the 31 times they played, Serena won 19 while Venus won 12. So no one beat Serena Williams more than Venus Williams. If there weren’t Serena, Venus would’ve had 40 grand slams. Remember, Serena could’ve had more slams but she became a mother, she was injured, and she easily could’ve had over 30 if she would’ve just played. I really believe, Venus Williams is the second-greatest female tennis player of all time. I do the eyeball test. Forget Margaret Court or Steffi or Evert, I’m just saying who’s better. I know generation and stuff but people don’t realize how good Venus Williams was. No insight, but she does the same roadmap as Serena and she’ll call it at the US Open because they’re gonna go out with a bang.
Question– Would you say that Venus has underachieved in her career?
No. I think Venus has overachieved and here’s why. She beat Serena 12 times! I think that means something more than anything. That’s big! She did win 7 grand slams and she won 14 doubles grand slams with Serena. She didn’t underachieve whatsoever. You gotta remember, the depth of women’s tennis back then is very different than now. Right now, it’s very fluid and there are very few people who’ve been there, and done that. Think about this, you’ve got Capriati, Hingis, Davenport, Sharapova, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin, and the Williams sisters. I’m not making excuses or saying anything, all I’m saying is I’ve seen players with my eyes and I’ve had a better feel about this than anybody. Venus Williams, in my opinion, is the second-greatest player of all time. It’s not related to Rick Macci coaching her, people just don’t realize how good Venus Williams actually was.
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Lakshya Chopra
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