Twenty years ago: Serena as young pit bull, Venus as natural champion

Now 31 and 32 years old, Serena and Venus Williams are still major forces in the tennis world, but even when they were 11 and 12, their father Richard knew that sporting success and million-dollar earnings were treasured in his daughters. Enjoy the above 20-year-old video of the sisters!

I would highlight the interview with Richard, when he predicts that Serena would grow into a more successful player than Venus, among other things due to her nature of being “like a pit bull”, as once she gets hold of you she doesn’t let go. I like to compare her to tornado, but her father was even more illustrative. As for Venus, Richard described her as having been born with four crucial qualities of a champion: being rough, tough, strong and mentally unbelievably sound.

Moreover, I love the way Richard realized the opportunities tennis provides:

I hadn’t watched a tennis match on TV, and I really didn’t see the match, the match was over with and they were giving this young lady forty thousand dollars because she won the tournament and I figure since I worked for 52 thousand all year and this girl made forty thousand dollars in four days, I knew I was in the wrong business.

And Serena’s answer to the question which tennis player she would like to be like is a gem:

Well, I’d like other people to be like me.

Smart choice, girl! And that’s exactly what happened!

Furthermore, here are biographical questionnaires that Serena and Venus filled in 1993 at a USTA Player Development training camp. Fun stuff!

For our section dedicated to the childhood photos and videos of WTA stars, please visit this page. (source: Beyond the Baseline)