Oh, I think I cried the whole time,” admitted Serena Williams after she watched scenes featuring her late sister Yetunde Price in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s 2021 film King Richard.
“Whenever she came on film, I just – personally, I just started, like I mean, even still,” explained the tennis legend in a special instalment of Red Table Talk.
The biopic saw Will Smith portray Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams. The film catapulted the sibling’s family life into the spotlight, offering an in-depth look at their upbringing and journey to stardom.
The synopsis read: “Armed with a clear vision and a brazen, 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his two daughters, Venus and Serena, into history.
“Training on tennis courts in Compton, Calif., Richard shapes the girls’ unyielding commitment and keen intuition. Together, the Williams family defies seemingly insurmountable odds and the prevailing expectations laid before them.”
Yetunde, who worked as both a nurse and a personal assistant for her star-studded sisters, sadly passed away in 2003 at the age of 31 in the family’s hometown of Compton, California.
“She was original Team V. Before there was a Team V, she was Team V,” said Venus.
She added: “One of the best things that was ever told to us, and why we’re so close, is that your sisters are your best friends. You’re not allowed to fight. We became each other’s biggest supporters. That’s what we were told to be.”
From their childhood in California with their mother’s three daughters, to their six other half-siblings from their father’s side, we dive into the tennis champions’ wide family tree.
Serena and Venus’ three sisters
The tennis moguls were raised in Compton, California, by their mother Oracene Price and father Richard Williams. The siblings lived with their three older half-sisters Yetunde, Lyndrea and Isha from their mom’s previous marriage to Yusef Rasheed. Oracene married Richard in 1980 and they welcomed Venus later that year and Serena in 1981. The family later moved to Florida.
The sisters were incredibly close growing up and even all shared a bedroom. In an interview with The New York Times in 2007, Isha shared details about her childhood and revealed the girls had a strict 10pm bedtime set by their tennis coach father. “It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized that our lives weren’t what other people considered normal,” she recalled.
Serena and Venus kept a strong relationship with their older sisters as they grew up and have even shared business ventures. Lyndrea worked alongside Venus on her athlete-inspired fashion label EleVen.
Isha ventured into a different career path than her sisters as she graduated from Georgetown
Isha ventured into a different career path than her sisters as she graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and Howard University. Serena’s sister works as a lawyer and was a producer on the family’s biopic King Richard.
Speaking with The Root about her relationship with Isha in 2018, Venus said: “She’s always saving my life. I’m grateful for her. I have three older sisters, one younger, and I have my mom. Those were the role models in my life. We’re a tight-knit family. We were taught that your sisters are your best friends.”
Yetunde’s death
Yetunde was murdered in a drive-by shooting while riding in an SUV with her boyfriend, Rolland Wormley, in September 2003. The incident took place near a suspect drug house in Compton.
The tennis champions continue to pay tribute to the late mother-of-three. Serena told People: “Yetunde and I were so close; she changed my diapers. But I finally came to an acceptance of things.”
Robert Mxfield was charged with voluntary manslaughter three years after Yetunde’s death and was sentenced to 15 years in prison before being released on parole back in 2018.
Richard Williams’ six other children
The legendary tennis coach has five children, Sabrina, Richard III, Ronner, Reluss and Reneeka, from his first marriage to Betty Johnson. The couple divorced in 1973 before Richard met Oracene.
Richard welcomed his son Dylan Starr Richard in 2012 with his third wife Lakeisha Juanita Graham. Serena and Venus’s father has another son, Chavoita LeSane, from a former relationship.
