"As a child, I struggled to understand why my father didn’t love me" - When Serena Williams' father Richard opened up about his dad's abandonment
Serena Williams' father Richard once opened up about his struggle to cope with his own father's abandonment of their family. The American revealed how the experience caused a profound identity crisis, which impacted him throughout his adult life.
Richard Williams was instrumental in establishing one of the greatest legacies in the sport, coaching his daughters Venus and Serena Williams in their formative years and guiding them into becoming tennis legends.
However, the American's journey was not without difficulty, as he grew up in abject poverty in Shreveport, Louisiana. He also had to endure the hardship of his father Richard Dove leaving him, his mother, and four younger sisters.
In his memoir 'Black and White: The Way I See It,' Richard Williams recounted how his challenging upbringing defined him as a husband and father. He revealed that he resented his name as a child because he shared it with his father, who abandoned him and "abused" his mother.
"The world may now see me as a famous man in control of his destiny, but no one knows how much my early life defined me as a child, and later, as a husband and a father," he said.
"As early as I remember, I hated my name because my father’s love did not come with it. It would always remind me of the man who left me alone, who abused my mother, and who put me way behind the starting line in the race of life," he added.
The American also admitted his struggle to understand why his father didn't love him, disclosing that the unresolved feeling followed him into adulthood and impacted his sense of self.
"As a child, I struggled to understand why my father didn’t want me and why he didn’t love me. Even now, those questions remain, and I am rarely comfortable with people, or within myself, regardless of the respect I have gained," Serena Williams' father said.
Serena Williams' father Richard: "When my father never gave anything to me, I decided I was going to give my family everything I had"
In his memoir, Serena Williams' father Richard also opened up about living in a "raggedy" shack with his family, disclosing that the ramshackle house was so frail that a strong wind could have destroyed it.
"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," Serena Williams' father said.
The American revealed how he channeled the pain of his father's abandonment into something to be proud of, shedding light on his resolve to provide for his mother and sisters in all the ways that his father did not.
"When my father never gave anything to me, I decided I was going to give my family everything I had. The more I worked, the more I helped Mama and my sisters, and the prouder of myself I became," he added.
Despite his determination, Richard Williams found it difficult to make ends meet, even resorting to "stealing from white people" to add to the produce garden he started in their backyard to generate an income.