“It all started with my parents, and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful for them,” – the 23-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, said this in her speech after playing the last match in her career. Both Richard Williams and Oracene Price have always supported Serena and Venus Williams, on and off the court. The Williams sisters are often seen emphasizing their parents’ unwavering support and the positive impact of their parenting style.
Talking about their parenting style, although both Richard and Oracene were focused on their girls’ budding talent as they grew up, they had different approaches to parenting. According to Serena and Venus Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci, Oracene was more like “the calming force” with a very low-key personality. “She was amazing with the girls. She wanted to make sure they were kids. She wanted to make sure that they had a teenage life, and she did everything possible to make that just as important,” said Macci in an interview with the New York Times. He claimed that Oracene Price was the “backbone” and “the master puppeteer” behind her daughters’ success.
While Richard Williams “always had his foot on the gas.” Both Richard and Oracene had moved from California to Florida to support their daughters’ careers. In fact, Richard had even quit his job to focus solely on coaching his daughters, and during this time, their mother, Oracene, had stepped up to financially support their family of seven. They showed the world the true definition of ideal parenting! Recently, during an interview with Afua Hirsch on Marie Claire, Venus Williams spoke about how she wants to raise her children in the same way her parents raised her and Serena.
When Venus Williams was asked about how conscious she was of the change she represented, particularly for women of color, who were almost unheard of at a tournament like Wimbledon at one point of time, she said, “I was thinking, gosh, if I have kids, I really have to raise them the way my parents raised us – just to be proud of who we were, to know our history as African Americans. So, me being there was not necessarily even special. It was like, I am who I am. Looking back, I’m glad I had that level of oblivion.”
August 7, 2024, Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada: Venus Williams speaks during the UNMATCHED Gender Equity in Sports Conference at the Paramount EventSpace in Woodbridge, Ontario. Woodbridge Canada – ZUMAt160 20240807_zip_t160_006 Copyright: xMathewxTsangx
However, this wasn’t the first time that we’ve seen Venus Williams heaping praise and admiration on her parents for their invaluable contributions to her career. In an interview with Kaphar on CULTURED, she was asked where she learnt tennis initially. Replying to that, Venus said, “That person for me was definitely my dad. He created his way of how he thought tennis should be played. For example, we were not allowed to play defense.” She spoke about how she was always encouraged to play offensive tennis no matter what, and according to Williams, that thing really changed the game for her and her sister, Serena Williams. What does Serena have to say about the role of their parents, though?
Just like Venus Williams, Serena is thankful to her parents for setting a good example
After welcoming her daughter, Olympia, in September 2017, Serena Williams shared a heartfelt message to her mother, Oracene Price. In a letter to her mother on Reddit, she called Oracene one of the strongest women that she has ever met in her life. Having said that, she also praised her for being “so classy” and thanked her for setting a perfect example for others to look at while parenting.
“Thank you for being the role model I needed to endure all the hardships that I now regard as challenges — ones that I enjoy. I hope to teach my baby Alexis Olympia the same, and have the same fortitude you have had,” said Serena Williams. Talking about her father, Richard Williams, she once even considered having him as a coach for her kids!
Now, coming to her elder sister, Venus Williams, well, in 2019, during an interview with US Weekly, she showered praise on her sister while showcasing her willingness to become a mother in the near future. “What I admire most about her is how dedicated she is, and if I ever become a mom, she showed me how to do it,” she said. There have been plenty of instances in the past where we’ve seen Venus Williams showcasing her motherly wishes in various ways.
However, recently, while sharing her experience of dealing with uterine fibroids, where she even had to undergo a myomectomy in July 2024, Venus Williams shared a story that made her really concerned at that time. “I was told I was inoperable. I was told I could bleed to death on the table. I was told to get a surrogate and forget the hope to carry my own children. I was misdiagnosed,” said Venus Williams. However, thankfully for the American tennis star, she has now recovered from that and has also made a comeback to competitive tennis.
No matter what comes in the way, Richard Williams and Oracene Price have taught their daughters to overcome each and every hurdle in their lives. Perhaps this was also one of those examples!
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