Serena and Venus Williams’ father Richard can arguably be considered as the best tennis coach in history after he “created” 2 amazing champions. He was inducted in the Hall of Fame back in 2017, but it is little known by many that Serena and Venus’ mother, Oracene Price, also played a crucial role not only in their life off court, but also on court.
About Price’ upbringing
Born in 1952 and Nicknamed “Brandy”, Price was the daughter of an Automotive worker. She had 3 daughters from her previous marriage with Yusef Rasheed. After Rasheed’s death, she got married to Richard Williams, but then they divorced in 2002.
Price Williams as a tennis coach
As previously mentioned, Oracene was coaching Serena and Venus trying to have a holistic approach. During a recent interview with Today, Price revealed how important for her was the mental aspect alongside the technique. The American commented:
“I’m watching their techniques, mostly. But before the game, I’m watching them mentally. And I see a lot of people go out there, not mentally there, but it is so important, cause you have to believe that you can do something before you do it.”
An interesting part of Price’s interview was when she revealed what she does after her daughters lose a match to say that she prefers to leave them alone without giving them any notes. Williams commented:
“I just never did it [leaving notes]. Don’t tell them what you shoulda did and what they shoulda did — that’ll drive them crazy. You just have to leave it alone.”
Serena and Venus are about to start their US Open campaign with Price’s youngest daughter aiming at equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24th slams
