"Of course, I pushed them, they needed to be pushed" - When John McEnroe revealed how Richard Williams pre-decided Venus and Serena Williams' careers
Tennis legend John McEnroe once revealed how Richard Williams pre-decided his daughters Serena Williams and Venus Williams' careers.
The Williams sisters dominated the tour for over two decades. They have 48 Grand Slam titles between them (including 14 shared women's doubles titles), and both have topped the WTA rankings.
Serena Williams was the one that stood out the most between them, with 23 Grand Slam singles titles under her belt. Venus Williams also has seven singles Majors to her name and is an all-time great, but she failed to match her sister's achievements.
In his 2002 book, "You Cannot Be Serious," John McEnroe wrote that he had dinner with Richard Williams during the 2000 French Open. Williams stated at the time that he had pre-decided his daughters' careers even before they were born in order to provide them with a "tremendous life" that they might not have chosen for themselves otherwise.
"I had dinner with Richard Williams during the 2000 French Open (yes, we do speak to each other!), and he told me, 'Kids have no idea what they want to do most of the time.' Which is true. I had no idea I wanted to be a tennis player when I grew up," McEnroe wrote.
"Richard’s attitude about Venus and Serena was 'Look, I picked something great for them, something that’ll give them a tremendous living and a tremendous life. It’s crazy to think that they were capable of making that decision when they were young. So of course I pushed them, but they needed to be pushed,'" he added.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner further stated that it is an "unanswerable question" if "great players" such as Monica Seles and Andre Agassi would have been successful if they were not pushed in this way.
"Look at almost any of the great players. Would they have succeeded anyway if they hadn’t been pushed? That’s the unanswerable question. Would Agassi have been a great champion if he hadn’t been pushed by his father? Would Monica Seles, if her father hadn’t quit his job and pushed her? It’s difficult to say," McEnroe wrote.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams played doubles together in the 2022 US Open
Serena Williams and Venus Williams, the 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions, teamed up together at the 2022 US Open doubles after the 23-time Grand Slam champion announced her retirement. It was the first time they had joined forces since the 2018 French Open.
However, the duo suffered a 7-6(5), 6-4 defeat in the first round to the Czech pair of Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka.