1. Richard Williams Hails From Louisiana.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nRichard Dove Williams was born on Feb. 14, 1942, in Shreveport, Louisiana. “In Shreveport, my family and I lived in a three-room shack on East Seventy-Ninth Street, next to the railroad tracks. The house was so raggedy a strong wind could have blown it down,” Richard wrote in an excerpt of his book, Black and White: The Way I See It<\/em>, published by the New York Daily News<\/a> <\/em>in 2014. Richard’s father left his mother, Julia, and her five children to survive on their own. “When my father never gave anything to me, I decided I was going to give my family everything I had,” he wrote. “The more I worked, the more I helped Mama and my sisters, and the prouder of myself I became.” After graduating from high school, he eventually found his way to California.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/richard-williams-5-things-to-know-shutterstock-embed.jpg?resize=620%2C826\")
Serena Williams and Venus Williams arrive at the 2021 AFI Fest\u00a0 (Image Press Agency\/NurPhoto\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n2. He’s Been Married Multiple Times.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile out in California, Richard met Betty Johnson<\/strong>. Betty had one child from a prior relationship, and after she and Richard married in 1965, they had five children together, per Page Six<\/a><\/em>. They divorced in 1973. Seven years later, he married Oracene Prince. She and Richard had two biological daughters together \u2013 Venus and Serena \u2013 before divorcing in 2002. In 2010, Richard married Lakeisha Juanita Graham, a woman 37 years younger than he was. They welcomed a son, Dylan<\/strong>, in 2012 and divorced in 2017, per Heavy<\/a>.<\/p>\n3. Richard Had No Background In Tennis<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter Richard saw Virginia Ruzici receive a $30,000 check on television after she won a tennis tournament, he decided that his next two kids would play the sport, according to Sports Illustrated<\/a><\/em>. “When we got started in tennis, it was to go out and make a lot of money. Believe me, we have made tons, and I’ll make even more.”<\/p>\nHe bought books and tapes to learn everything about the sport, taught Oracene \u2013 a gifted athlete \u2013 how to play, and began to coach the three girls from his first marriage, according to a 2018 Serena profile in GQ<\/a><\/em>. When Venus and Serena were 3 and 4, he started them playing at the public courts in Compton, California. Richard also drew up a 78-page training regime. As Venus and Serena developed, Richard moved the family to South Florida, where the daughters \u2013 Serena was 10, Venus was 11 \u2013 could train at Rick Macci’s<\/strong>\u00a0tennis academy. Richard eventually pulled the girls out of the school and did all the coaching himself at home. It was a successful risk, with Venus and Serena exploding on the scene, racking up wins left and right.<\/p>\n“I don’t feel like I was really in a bubble, to be honest,” Serena told GQ<\/em>. “I had friends. And you know, my dad wouldn’t let us be pro full-time until we finished high school.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hollywoodlife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/richard-williams-5-things-to-know-shutterstock-embed1.jpg?resize=620%2C413\")
Serena and Venus Williams in 2019 (Kristin Callahan\/ACE Pictures\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. His Tennis Dreams Were Supported By His Wife<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n“My dad at one point was working, and then, he stopped,” Serena said in the Nov. 16 episode of Red Table Talk, <\/em>per PEOPLE<\/a><\/em>. “He’s like, ‘This is what we’re going to do. I’m not going to have a job. I’m gonna go with Venus and Serena and train them every day.’ Now that would be impossible for me if my husband [Alexis Ohanian] were to tell me that.” Serena credited her mother for supporting the family while Richard chased tennis<\/p>\n5. Richard Was Ahead Of His Time, According To Serena<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. He’s Been Married Multiple Times.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nWhile out in California, Richard met Betty Johnson<\/strong>. Betty had one child from a prior relationship, and after she and Richard married in 1965, they had five children together, per Page Six<\/a><\/em>. They divorced in 1973. Seven years later, he married Oracene Prince. She and Richard had two biological daughters together \u2013 Venus and Serena \u2013 before divorcing in 2002. In 2010, Richard married Lakeisha Juanita Graham, a woman 37 years younger than he was. They welcomed a son, Dylan<\/strong>, in 2012 and divorced in 2017, per Heavy<\/a>.<\/p>\n3. Richard Had No Background In Tennis<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter Richard saw Virginia Ruzici receive a $30,000 check on television after she won a tennis tournament, he decided that his next two kids would play the sport, according to Sports Illustrated<\/a><\/em>. “When we got started in tennis, it was to go out and make a lot of money. Believe me, we have made tons, and I’ll make even more.”<\/p>\nHe bought books and tapes to learn everything about the sport, taught Oracene \u2013 a gifted athlete \u2013 how to play, and began to coach the three girls from his first marriage, according to a 2018 Serena profile in GQ<\/a><\/em>. When Venus and Serena were 3 and 4, he started them playing at the public courts in Compton, California. Richard also drew up a 78-page training regime. As Venus and Serena developed, Richard moved the family to South Florida, where the daughters \u2013 Serena was 10, Venus was 11 \u2013 could train at Rick Macci’s<\/strong>\u00a0tennis academy. Richard eventually pulled the girls out of the school and did all the coaching himself at home. It was a successful risk, with Venus and Serena exploding on the scene, racking up wins left and right.<\/p>\n“I don’t feel like I was really in a bubble, to be honest,” Serena told GQ<\/em>. “I had friends. And you know, my dad wouldn’t let us be pro full-time until we finished high school.”<\/p>\nSerena and Venus Williams in 2019 (Kristin Callahan\/ACE Pictures\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. His Tennis Dreams Were Supported By His Wife<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n“My dad at one point was working, and then, he stopped,” Serena said in the Nov. 16 episode of Red Table Talk, <\/em>per PEOPLE<\/a><\/em>. “He’s like, ‘This is what we’re going to do. I’m not going to have a job. I’m gonna go with Venus and Serena and train them every day.’ Now that would be impossible for me if my husband [Alexis Ohanian] were to tell me that.” Serena credited her mother for supporting the family while Richard chased tennis<\/p>\n5. Richard Was Ahead Of His Time, According To Serena<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Richard Had No Background In Tennis<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\nAfter Richard saw Virginia Ruzici receive a $30,000 check on television after she won a tennis tournament, he decided that his next two kids would play the sport, according to Sports Illustrated<\/a><\/em>. “When we got started in tennis, it was to go out and make a lot of money. Believe me, we have made tons, and I’ll make even more.”<\/p>\nHe bought books and tapes to learn everything about the sport, taught Oracene \u2013 a gifted athlete \u2013 how to play, and began to coach the three girls from his first marriage, according to a 2018 Serena profile in GQ<\/a><\/em>. When Venus and Serena were 3 and 4, he started them playing at the public courts in Compton, California. Richard also drew up a 78-page training regime. As Venus and Serena developed, Richard moved the family to South Florida, where the daughters \u2013 Serena was 10, Venus was 11 \u2013 could train at Rick Macci’s<\/strong>\u00a0tennis academy. Richard eventually pulled the girls out of the school and did all the coaching himself at home. It was a successful risk, with Venus and Serena exploding on the scene, racking up wins left and right.<\/p>\n“I don’t feel like I was really in a bubble, to be honest,” Serena told GQ<\/em>. “I had friends. And you know, my dad wouldn’t let us be pro full-time until we finished high school.”<\/p>\nSerena and Venus Williams in 2019 (Kristin Callahan\/ACE Pictures\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n4. His Tennis Dreams Were Supported By His Wife<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n“My dad at one point was working, and then, he stopped,” Serena said in the Nov. 16 episode of Red Table Talk, <\/em>per PEOPLE<\/a><\/em>. “He’s like, ‘This is what we’re going to do. I’m not going to have a job. I’m gonna go with Venus and Serena and train them every day.’ Now that would be impossible for me if my husband [Alexis Ohanian] were to tell me that.” Serena credited her mother for supporting the family while Richard chased tennis<\/p>\n5. Richard Was Ahead Of His Time, According To Serena<\/strong><\/h2>\n
He bought books and tapes to learn everything about the sport, taught Oracene \u2013 a gifted athlete \u2013 how to play, and began to coach the three girls from his first marriage, according to a 2018 Serena profile in GQ<\/a><\/em>. When Venus and Serena were 3 and 4, he started them playing at the public courts in Compton, California. Richard also drew up a 78-page training regime. As Venus and Serena developed, Richard moved the family to South Florida, where the daughters \u2013 Serena was 10, Venus was 11 \u2013 could train at Rick Macci’s<\/strong>\u00a0tennis academy. Richard eventually pulled the girls out of the school and did all the coaching himself at home. It was a successful risk, with Venus and Serena exploding on the scene, racking up wins left and right.<\/p>\n “I don’t feel like I was really in a bubble, to be honest,” Serena told GQ<\/em>. “I had friends. And you know, my dad wouldn’t let us be pro full-time until we finished high school.”<\/p>\n “My dad at one point was working, and then, he stopped,” Serena said in the Nov. 16 episode of Red Table Talk, <\/em>per PEOPLE<\/a><\/em>. “He’s like, ‘This is what we’re going to do. I’m not going to have a job. I’m gonna go with Venus and Serena and train them every day.’ Now that would be impossible for me if my husband [Alexis Ohanian] were to tell me that.” Serena credited her mother for supporting the family while Richard chased tennis<\/p>\n4. His Tennis Dreams Were Supported By His Wife<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. Richard Was Ahead Of His Time, According To Serena<\/strong><\/h2>\n