Tennis Hits the Books (and sometimes Media)
Happy Thanksgiving! In the United States the Thanksgiving tradition started with a colonial harvest feast that morphed into a tradition of family gatherings celebrated with a heart of gratitude. What could be more appropriate for this site today than a review of what is arguably the greatest tennis family movie ever made. It is the story of Richard Williams and his role in propelling his daughters Venus and Serena into two of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport. It’s… not a traditional family story.
It was apparent from the opening moments of the movie that the casting is amazing. As the movie concluded, it was also clear that the acting was great and that the script was excellent. The producers did not shy away from some of the more complicated aspects of Richard’s legacy. Those aspects were woven into the story in an unobtrusive but still impactful way.
Richard always claimed that he wanted to have two daughters to play tennis and that he wrote a plan for how that was going to happen before they were born. The fact that he already had other children and could have started on that dream immediately was shortly explored in during a fight with Venus and Serena’s mother, Oracene. While Richard may have been a good father to Venus and Serena, some of his other children were essentially abandoned.
When any tennis parent struts around claiming that their child will be a future world tennis champion, the tennis world collectively rolls its eyes. Almost every parent who gazes into the eyes of their infant child sees visions of future greatness in something. Every baby cannot grow up to be the president of their country. Not every baby will achieve athletic greatness in any sport. The odds are incredibly long.
The informed tennis perception of Richard Williams when he started Venus and Serena out in tennis is that he was a crazy man who claimed to have a crazy plan. Just because his vision came to fruition doesn’t negate the insanity. Competent tennis coaches will tell their players to focus on the process rather than the results. In the case of the Williams sisters, the results are an anomaly. Just because a player believes and works hard doesn’t guarantee success. It takes so much luck along the way.
In a less egregious example of results oriented thinking, it cannot be denied that Williams hustled for the resources needed for tennis. He was a shrewd negotiator and maximized the value of Venus’s initial endorsement contracts far beyond what was initially offered. The cinematic portrayal of the risks associated with his rejection of endorsement offers is an accurate dramatization of the very significant financial risks he took.
So much of the movie and the narrative that Williams wove about his family was that tennis was his way of keeping his daughters off the mean streets of Compton. One fact that was omitted from the story is that the family lived in Long Beach for the first three years of Venus’s life. Richard intentionally moved the family to Compton (over the objections of Oracene) because he thought it would toughen up his daughters. It also contributed nicely to the narrative that makes their subsequent success more compelling.
Once again, just because it is crazy, doesn’t mean that the Compton origin story wasn’t instrumental in focusing Venus and Serena on their tennis. Distractions from tennis training have stunted the development of many junior players. In the case of Venus and Serena, those distractions were literally dangerous. Not many junior players will describe tennis as their personal calm away from the storm.
I highly recommend sticking with the credits through the end of the photo montage. It illustrates what a great job the cinematography was in capturing some of the iconic photos from their childhood. The video clips of real interviews from their childhood was a powerful reminder that those scenes in the move were recreated rather than fabricated.
King Richard stars Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, and Demi Singleton, with Tony Goldwyn and Jon Bernthal. It is currently showing in theaters and can be streamed on HBO Max.
