I'll take that. Thank you.
Where [grew up, Louisiana, cedar grove...
Tennis was not a game peoples played. We was too busy running from the klan.
But here it is, when I'm interested in a thing, [learn it.
How it works, how the best peoples in the world do it.
And that's what I did with tennis, with the girls.
If you look at the biggest servers;
Sampras, lendl, Connors, you'll see the break of their wrists
is like a smack, like a high-five.
That's what you're looking for when you hit it.
That "pop."
All we need is a club... For training, and clinics, the whole deal.
Everything the girls need to go from prodigy to pro.
I wrote me a 78-page plan for their whole career
before they was even born.
It was 1977, I had watched this tennis match...
And, uh, I seen them get this girl, Virginia ruzici,
$40,000 for four days' work.
And since I knew I had only made $52,000 all year,
I knew I was in the wrong business.
Went home that night, told the wife, "we need to make two more kids."
So that night I wrote up the plan. One for Venus, one for Serena.
- All right. Step in a little bit more. - Cover their whole tennis...
Cover their education, foreign languages, everything.
- And now that plan say... - All right, shorten it up.
It's time for us to come see you to help turn them into champions.
Now, I know what you thinking,
"this family is from the ghetto. How they gonna pay old me?"
Well, don't you worry about that. We're not here to Rob ya.
We here to make you rich.
You ever think about basketball?
Best of luck to you, I...
Okay, you making a mistake, but I'm gonna let you make it.
- Okay. - All right.
- Them pants look expensive. - Oh, they are.
If I had a dollar for every crazy parent
that told me their kid would make it to number one,
well, I'd be a rich man.
- You look pretty rich to me. - Well, there you go.
You need to open your stance up a little more.
Your stance too closed.
Serena, those books are bigger than you are.
No, they're not. I can do it. I can carry more than you.
- And break your back while you're at it? - Wanna bet?
Serena!
Phone book!
Phone book.
Phone book!
Phone book.
Phone book! —girls.
Hey.
- Told you I'd win. - You cheat.
- Hi, Mrs. Strickland. - Thank you.
Now, you need to go tell your father to stop working you so hard.
I seen y'all practicing in the rain. The man is crazy.
Girls. Y'all go ahead back in the house.
Tell your sisters we leaving in a few minutes.
We'll deliver the rest of them books later.
I ain't gonna tell you again, do not talk to them kids.
Excuse me. They came onto my lawn.
And somebody has gotta, as hard as you're working 'em.
They work as hard as they need to to stay off these streets.
I'm in the champion-raising business.
I got a book about it about to come out soon.
Maybe I give a copy to your daughter.
- Remind me which corner she working on? - Get off my property.
- Richard, leave that nosy woman alone. - Yeah, just stop talking to my kids.
Got your little Booty-hugging shorts. You need some bigger shorts!
You know, she just wanna rile you up.
- I gotta get to work. - All right.
I think you riling me up
with them little nurse shoes on.
- I love them little nurse shoes. - Get these girls to practice.
- All right. Have a good day. - You, too.
Yes, I have my homework.
Keep turning those hips if you wanna get that power.
Bye, mom.
- Tunde, dang, you're a nerd. - —stop.
Why you doing homework on a Saturday?
Because I am trying to get an a. You should try it with your b-plus.
Where are we practicing today, daddy?
- Yeah, where are we practicing? - At the club.
And Serena, stop saying everything Venus say.
Hope they don't steal our balls again.
Lyn, you probably told 'em to do it so we wouldn't have to practice.
We got us a Van full of balls.
And you don't need to be worrying about what other folks is doing anyway.
You need to worry about what you doing.
We out here getting great, that's what we need to be worrying about.
You understand that?
- Yes, daddy, we do. - All right.
Oh.
- Say hi to the peoples that's gone. - Hi to the people that's gone.
I feel like I'm in church.
- Okay, who ready to work? - We're ready to work!
- Say again? - —We're ready, daddy.
All right, all right. That's what I like to hear.
Stay up on your toes. You're making too much noise.
King Richard, don't get much rest ever, do you?
Don't nothing come to a sleeper but a dream.
Are you ready to be dropped?
'Cause I will drop you.
Oh, no, watch out. Watch out.
There you go.
Keep that wrist like the smack. It's like with the "pop" on top.
Throw it to the sky. Get this one over the fence.
I like that. Yeah, that's it.
There you go!
First drill. Whoever hit that, one dollar.
Yes, yes, good power.
Yes, there you go. There you go.
Yes! Ooh, watch out, martina.
Speed that racket head up.
Oh! Almost, Venus Williams!
Forehand.
Yes, you keep that stance open or else I'MMA come down there and tickle you.
Very good. Get to it. Get to it.
There you go! There you go!
Don't wait for that ball, go get it. Yes.
Good depth, good depth there.
Switch it backhand.
Don't get too excited. This is your game.
Get it all the way up to that cotton picker.
All the way up to the sky.
Yes, Venus Williams. Come on in here.
That's a very, very good day today. You did good work.
- Venus Williams... - Hm?
- Who is your best friend? - You, daddy.
Serena Williams...
- Who is your best friend? - Venus.
- Then you, after Venus. It's okay. - That's unbelievable. That's unbelievable.
Give your daddy a kiss.
Thank you. All right.
Y'all go ahead, uh... get the... Pick the balls and everything up.
How you doing? I'm sorry, what's your name, mama?
You ain't gotta act like that, love. We just tryin' to talk to you, that's all.
Tunde!
Pick your things up, get your sisters, go ahead to the bus.
Yetunde, that's your name?
Hey, the homie said he wanna talk to you, but, tunde,
you ain't gotta be acting like that, love.
She studying. Where she going?
Don't drop your backpack, baby.
Keep talkin' all that shit.
Oh, tunde!
Tunde, the homie's still right here.
I be tellin' this love right here...
What is he doing?
Nigga be acting like he scared or something like...
Young man, now I asked you a couple times.
Young man?
Now, that girl there is only 16 years old. And she out here to work.
Just leave her alone. Leave her alone.
- I talk to whoever I want, homie. - Oh, he upset, nigga.
You leave these girls at peace.
Hey yo, come on, homie, man. Leave this old-ass nigga alone.
What, now you feel like you're better than us or something, homie?
Hey, homeboy, you know you hear me talking to you.
Come on!
What's up, homie, you got something you wanna say?
I done said what I wanna say. Just mind your business.
She not interested in you.
Yeah, now you my business, bitch.
Oh, damn! Come on, roc!
See your daddy now, huh, tunde?
Come on, man. He's an old-ass nigga, man.
That's your homie, man. What's going on with him?
- Come on, man. - Hey, keep your old ass at home, homie.
Turn that music up! Turn that music up!
Come over here trippin' and shit, man.
Came over here with that stupid shit.
Punk-ass nigga, say what?
Daddy, are you okay?
When I was your age I used to have to fight every day.
If it wasn't the ku klux klan or the police or...
The white boys from the next town...
Somebody was always beating on me for something.
And I ain't had no daddy to stand in their way.
This world ain't never had no respect for Richard Williams.
But they gonna respect y'all.
They gonna respect y'all.
Somebody ought to call the cops on you.
Daddy, what's happening?
- Nothing, junior. Go in the house. - —okay.
- Hi, mom. - Hey, girls, dinner's ready.
- How was practice? - It was good.
Daddy got beat up again.
- Did you work on your serve? - Yeah.
Tunde, get the plates.
If we eat fast enough we'll probably have time for the talent show.
Oh, wait, hold on. I'm going first.
- I already know what I'm singing. - Let me guess...
Because the greatest love of all...
Stop! What's so funny? The song is a great song.
- Move, move, move. - Yes, ma'am.
Leave Serena alone.
- Here, give this out. - Thank you, mama.
Y'all go wash up.
What happened?
That same boy, sniffing around tunde.
- Give me this. - Thank you.
All right. I got to get to work.
Okay, girls, half hour. Finish your homework, then get to bed.
- Y'all clean up. - You got it? Yes, ma'am.
Something has to change.
- What you mean? - We can't keep up this pace.
Me nursing all day, you working all night.
Coaching in-between. Now look at your face.
Oh, I done already put this behind me.
Okay, we just got to stick to the plan.
We got champions in the other room.
Richard, we have done a great job with them.
They are great.
But they're not going to wimbledon like this.
Not with hitting with you and me on those raggedy courts.
They need better surfaces than... They need better everything.
And not playing with you with your busted-up feet.
My feets are fine. Okay?
Okay, actually they was hurting out there a little bit today.
Oh, my gosh.
Richard, you playing. I'm serious.
I'm serious.
- You are right. - I know I'm right.
Yeah.
You should have seen Venus out there today.
Just something done clicked in her mind. She is so ready.
- Yeah, she ready. - She ready for that next level.
That shows me how and when the night falls
she ready.
You got to trust me. Okay?
All right.
I'm gonna get us some help.
Venus and Serena gonna shake up this world.
And they gonna need to 'cause they not gonna make it as singers.
They not 'cause...
Oh, Serena.
I got to get to work. All right?
That's what I want to hear.
With somebody who loves me
say you wanna dance don't you wanna dance
We're gonna shake up this world.
- Oh, [wanna dance... - With somebody
- A basketball hoop? - Dancing together? A hole?
Ballet?
Oh, a ring? A basketball... hoop?
- Ten o'clock, girls. Time for bed. - What was it?
-So, what was it? —saturn.
Oh!
All right. Y'all wrote in yourjournals? Made your plans for tomorrow?
Yes, daddy.
That's right. Got to have a plan for every day, else what?
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
- That's right. We not failing, are we? - —No, daddy.
Okay, all the way to the top.
Come on, meka. Just get in.
You know, one day not too long from now,
somebody gonna hand you girls a check for one million dollars.
And you gonna buy as many beds as you want.
- In one check? Really? - Maybe even a couple of 'em.
But we not gonna be like this forever, okay?
- —Okay. - All right.
You girls go to bed.
Good night, daddy.
As you notice, Vic, they have very good form.
And, uh, you can see their serve looks very good... hopefully.
Raise your hand, Serena.
Venus Williams.
And, we have your tape, "tennis our way," and we've been viewing it.
However, the tape say you'll be good by Friday.
Well guess what, Vic...
We got good by Tuesday.
That's how good your tape is.
These girls is looking for some coaching, and we think you'd be great.
So, you want to relax, take it easy...
And get a chance to see some real good tennis players.
That's it.
So I guess you made that yourself?
Yes, I did. Yes. Uh...
When the girls was younger, I had bought me this camcorder.
So I filmed myself in the mirror asking questions, things, and the such.
Then when they got older, I start doing it with them.
I called it their "media training."
I see. Well, that's... very industrious.
Oh, yeah, I'm a businessman, Vic.
Uh, this deal you're asking for, you know, all of this for... for free, Richard...
Nobody's taking that bet.
Tennis is a technical game, you know, probably one of the most.
And if you didn't grow up with the game, then...
It's like playing the violin.
You know, it takes hours and hours a day.
You know, year after year of expensive expert instruction,
just to hold the thing right.
Yeah, and even then... even for families with unlimited financial resources,
the chances of achieving the kind of...
Mastery and success that you're talking about...
I mean, for one kid, let alone two, it's...
It's like asking somebody to believe that you got the next two mozarts
living in your house, you know?
It's just... It's just very, very unlikely.
I'm sorry, that's... just my two cents.
-Yeah. —I, uh...
- Yeah. Okay. - Maybe you can prove me wrong.
Daddy?
Dear heavenly father, jehovah, god...
We thank you for this food.
We ask you to bless the hands of the peoples that prepared this food.
We thank you for this opportunity as a family to come together.
And we ask you to please...
Please don't let nobody get fat
from eating all this food.
In Jesus's name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Meka, I think he was talking to you.
Oh!
- Look at all this cheese. - What'd you get, isha?
I got a little bit of work I got to do. Uh...
Y'all ride home with your mother. All right?
Everything okay? You all right?
Oh, everything's great. Y'all just go and eat.
Bring... bring my food home when you come.
- Bye, daddy. - All right.
- You eating his food? - —Uh—huh.
Hey, where tunde at, homie?
Roc, what you doin', man?
Did I stutter, nigga?
Hey, let's roll, homie. Fool just went right now.
We bounce, we can smoke 'em. Leave this old-ass dude alone.
You know what my daddy taught me?
How to smoke a blunt.
And how to smoke a bitch nigga, too.
I'm real good at both.
What you scared for, homie?
Tell tunde me and the homies might come by later and run a train on her.
Oh! Oh, oh!
Get his ass! Get his ass!
Get off me, man!
Get the fuck out the way, homie.
Smoke him, homie. On the turf, homie. Smoke him.
He came and disrespect you in our hood?
Don't nobody give a damn about you, homeboy.
Nobody.
Let's roll. Let's roll.
Take your balls, nigga.
See y'all later then.
Yo, they got roc!
Roc? Hey, call an ambulance! Call an ambulance! Roc?
Come on, roc, wake up! Talk to me!
Get up, man!
I said put a call out, come on, let's go!
Give me this. Give me this.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry.
How many fingers am I holding up?
How you get all nine fingers on one hand?
You fine.
I'MMA go take a shower.
Where are we practicing today, daddy?
Yeah, where are we practicing today?
We going some place special today.
These houses are huge.
Yes, that one looks like a castle.
- Y'all like these houses? - Yes.
That one looks like the white house.
Which one? Which one you like? What's your favorite?
I like that one.
Yeah, that one's nice.
If that was my house, I'd put a pool in the front and a slide on the roof.
- You'd put your pool in the front? - Have a big pool party.
Everybody's gonna want to come to my house.
Oh, you just gonna be the crazy lady on the block.
No. I'm gonna be the coolest person on the block.
- That one has a tennis court. - Oh, that's the one then.
Yeah.
You gonna have any one of these houses you want.
Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, any of these old hills.
'Cause you got a plan and you gonna stick to it.
When I was a little boy, my moms used to say, "son...
The most strongest, the most powerful,
the most dangerous creature on this whole earth
is a woman who know how to think.
Ain't nothing she can't do."
- Y'all know how to think? - Yes, daddy.
Now, these peoples we about to go see, you gonna show them how dangerous you are?
Yes, daddy.
Let me see your dangerous face.
Where your... That's your dangerous face?
There you go.
- That's your dangerous face. - {Gigglingl
okay, don't do that for the peoples.
- Don't do that. - Don't do that.
That's a nice shirt.
Top of the morning to you.
Look at that. Look at that. Come on.
- You see who that is? - Yes.
- Who's that? - John mcenroe.
- That's right. Who's that? - That's Pete Sampras.
Mm-hm.
One day, they gonna be bragging about the time they met the two of you.
- What are you doing, Johnny? - —what?
You know he's a smoker. Get off your heels.
- Ah, screw you. - Screw me?
All right, Pete, let's take a break.
Why are you guessing early? Just read the toss.
It looked like it was going outside.
- It did not. - You see what he did?
Yeah, but that's what you've been working so hard for...
- Excuse me, Mr. Cohen? - Getting that shot...
Yeah?
Uh, Richard Williams. We spoke on the phone.
- Oh, yeah. I remember. The brochure. - Yep, that's right.
I actually brought you another one in case you misplaced the first...
No, no, no. I got it.
What can I do for you?
Uh, well, we figured you was busy. That's why we came to see you.
Yeah.
Everybody says I got these two great tennis players
and we're still looking for a coach.
Oh, yeah, Mr. Wilson, listen.
- No, it's Williams. - We're in the middle of practice here.
This my daughter, that's Venus. This is my other daughter, Serena.
Nice to meet you, girls.
It won't take but a minute to watch them hit a few balls.
I'm sorry. I'm not taking anyjuniors now and we're in the middle of practice.
I don't mean to interrupt nothing, Mac, Pete.
Oh, tough break at wimbledon.
I seen what happened to you, Mac.
Uh, you gonna win again. Just keep your head up.
- Mr. Williams, this is not a good time. - Wait. Listen. Look...
- I just want you to watch them hit a few... - We're in the middle of...
Look, Mac is gone. Mac is gone.
The way Pete whipping up on him, he may never come back.
Pete, you don't mind if he just watch 'em hit a few balls, do you?
It's okay with me.
See? Come on. Mac is gone. Pete's okay. We ready.
You the only person got a problem with this.
Come on. Watch 'em hit a few balls.
You girls are pretty good, huh?
- Yes, sir. - Yes, sir.
Oh, they better than good.
- All right. A few balls. - A few balls. That's... come on.
- Come on, girls. - Show him this magic.
- This'll take a minute.
Hey, that's their brochure, Pete.
Now you take a look at that. I'MMA have them sign it for you later.
-Come on, come on. —got it.
- So tell me your names again. - I'm Venus.
- I'm Serena. - Venus and Serena. I'm Paul.
Uh, no, no, you not Paul. You Mr. Cohen.
Mr. Cohen, right.
All right, Serena, why don't you start at forehand?
Venus, backhand. We'll hit some down the line, all right?
That's good, Paul. That's how I usually start with 'em too.
- That's real smart. - Good.
All right, ready?
That's right. Show him the magic.
There you go. Good power, Venus Williams.
That's it.
- What you think, Pete? - They look good.
They good. I know they good. I know they good.
Pete Sampras is looking at you. Pete Sampras gonna steal your stuff.
All right, great job, girls.
Serena, why don't you go get some water? I wanna hit with your sister for a minute.
Venus, you want to try something a little different?
Okay, so start in the middle.
I want you to go after every single ball, all right?
I'm not gonna tell you where they're coming.
But don't stop until we're done.
Oh, she do that. She'll do that.
There you go.
Okay, I want you to recover each time.
Get it. Show it to him.
You have to show him that magic.
Yes.
There you go. There you go.
-Get it. All right. —okay.
Girls, come here and talk to me for a second.
Hustle, hustle, hustle.
Let me ask you both something.
What do you want out of this?
I know what your dad wants, but what about you?
Well, I want to win wimbledon as many times as anyone's ever won it.
You think you can do that?
I know I can.
What about you? Who on the tour do you wanna play like?
Well, I'd like other people to want to play like me.
I bet they will.
All right, you girls go pick 'em up.
Come on, Paul, let's go.
You taught 'em all this?
Oh, yeah, me and my wife Brandy. We both athletes.
So, what you think?
- Is this a bee you're drawing? - Yes, it is.
- You're not working on... - I thought y'all were doing homework.
We got a coach.
You little fakers. You little fakers!
- Pete Sampras's coach? - Sure as hell.
So he's gonna do it for free?
Uh... he said he can't do two for free.
What?
He only gonna teach Venus.
Okay, okay, you should have seen Venus.
Pete Sampras was there and I don't think he could beat her at all.
Sampras? Okay, Venus!
We were so good.
Did you tell Serena?
We only hit the net, like, twice.
Do you want to?
- Oh, Richard. - Yeah.
We got a coach. We got a coach.
It's not fair. I want to go with you.
I know. I want you to, too.
Meka, daddy said he's gonna record everything
and then we can watch it together.
He has a plan, okay?
Yeah, for you.
Okay, meka, your mom ready. Y'all gonna practice today.
But daddy, I can't practice on her court. She always hits slices.
That ain't nothing but a few minor adjustments.
You got to stay prepared for whatever's unpredictable. Okay?
Come on now, give your daddy a kiss.
Don't put no mean on my face. Come on. Daddy love you.
Mm? Come on, junior, let's go.
I know you feel left out. But you're not left out.
You got something great, too.
What?
Come on, we got work to do.
- Right now? - Yeah, right now.
I ain't raised no poop butts.
- Mom. - Come on. We got work to do.
Go. That's it. Back. Center. And back.
What you're going through is the Paul Cohen
first-strike strategic tennis system.
It's gonna turn you into a killer.
You'll learn to think about this tennis court as a chess board
made up of 228 shots.
You will learn to perfect them all.
Did I say stop? Go, go, go. Again.
Center.
Come on! Up, up, up! Explode!
Side!
Up, up, up! Back!
Side, side, side, side. I need you to be faster, Serena.
Twenty-four...
Twenty-five... Oh, halfway there. Come on.
Twenty-six...
Oh! Come on, back to the middle each time. Let's get 50.
Make sure you keep that stance open.
Please, Richard.
Oh! Blame your dad.
Wait, wait, wait. Stop, stop. What are you doing?
This is it. What! That's it.
Trust it, trust it.
Better! Yes!
Yeah.
Let me see a little bit more pronation on that wrist right at the end.
You just focus right here.
You know exactly what you're doing.
Do you want to be the best? You can do it. You know why?
Because you're a killing machine. You're a goddamn attack dog.
So bite.
Talk a little louder, Paul. Can't hear you.
- That wasn't for you, Richard. - Trying to record though, Paul.
You can interview me later.
- Yes! Yes! - There you go.
That's what the pronation gets you right there.
Really?
Yeah! Keep it up. Keep it up.
That's the move. Now get back to the middle. Get back to the middle.
You never know where that ball's gonna go. You gotta be ready.
Stay low, stay low, stay low...
Yeah, baby! Yes!
Go!
Get around it. That's it.
End the point. Recover, quick! You gotta move faster.
Hold on, junior, junior. Junior.
Uh, Paul, one second.
Look, you just got a little closed up that time.
You're doing real good. You just gotta keep that stance open.
- You plant that right foot... - What are you doing, Richard?
- That's how you get a little closed off. - Richard, what are you doing?
I'm talking to my daughter. Is something wrong with that?
No, nothing wrong with that.
Except you want me to fix her stance and I can't do that
if you keep telling her to hit open.
Well, Paul, ain't no reason to fix something that's not broke.
Okay? You've been hollering at the girl all daylong to get back to the middle.
That's all I hear you saying. Yet you instructing her
- to close her stance. - That's right.
How can she get back to the middle with her stance all closed up?
Okay, if she stays open, she can plant that foot.
- More power, more speed. - No! That is not how you get power.
You want power in your stroke, you square your shoulders,
you close your stance, hold your head right at contact,
and blast through it. You do not hit open stance.
- —Okay? - Yep.
- Can we please get back to it? - Well, just keep your mind open, Paul.
You know, just in case you not the smartest person in the whole world.
It would be really helpful if we could actually hit a few.
Because I got about 18 minutes left and I'd like to finish this practice.
It just don't make no sense what you sayin', Paul.
If she keep her stance closed, feet are all jumbled up,
she not gonna be able to get back.
I'll get my lesson from you when we're done, okay?
- Right now, I'd like to focus on Venus. - I keep forgetting you know everything.
- 17 minutes now. - I keep forgetting that.
That's it!
Okay, just as long as she hits some open.
- Keep that stance open, junior. - —now, recover, recover, recover.
Get around it. Get around it. I want a forehand.
I want a forehand. Get back to center. There you go!
Great serve. You know, capriati is really...
Dang, that's capriati?
Now, she's a freaking killer.
Won the junior orange bowl in Miami in the us 18-and-under when she was 12.
Just went pro last year.
That's her coach, Rick macci. He's in Florida.
Not as dumb as the rest, but...
She is the youngest pro ever to be ranked in the top ten.
And guess what she just did? She just beat steffi graf.
How do you think she learned how to do that? Juniors.
That's where the fight is.
That's where you face adversity, competition.
It's also where you get noticed by agents
who can help you pay for the training and introduce you to sponsors.
Capriati signed a two million dollar contract with diadora
before she played a single pro match.
How do you think that happened? Juniors.
So what do you guys say? Want to play juniors?
I think I can add that to the plan.
We'll play some juniors.
Come on. Come on. Do you feel good?
-Yes. I'm excited. —okay.
- Good morning. Good morning. - Did you see that, mom?
It's okay. They're just not used to seeing good-looking peoples like us.
You don't worry about them. Let them worry about you, Venus.
Oh, this it. This it right here.
Come on, come on, come on. Just leave your stuff there.
- Kick her butt. - All right, y'all.
- Have fun. Bye. - Okay. Love you.
All right.
Okay. You just focus on that ball. Okay?
You... are Venus Williams.
You gonna win wimbledon.
These girls ain't never gonna want to see your name in their draw. Okay?
- Okay, daddy. - You just go out there and have fun.
I know. I got this.
- All right. - Okay. I love you.
I love you.
All right, girls, meet at the net.
Best of three sets. Tiebreaks at six-all.
I'm covering three courts.
So keep your own score and call your own lines.
Good luck.
Okay, up or down?
Up, I guess. Thanks.
Down. You can serve.
She knows who she is. We've done ourjob.
Yeah, yeah.
- She'll be fine. - Mm-hm.
- Come on, v, you got this. - Good luck, v!
Come on, Venus!
She's nervous. Take a step up.
You just have some fun out there, Venus Williams.
That's all this about. Have some fun.
Good job, v!
Maybe she ought to take a few more steps up.
Just get some place safe.
Don't move.
You are so freaking stupid.
- All right, Venus! - Go, Venus!
All right, v.
- You watching? - Mm-hm.
- You're so bad! - Yes!
- Damn! - Great job!
I am talking to you. I am talking to you.
Do you even want to be out there right now? Do you?
Because the way that you just played, it's hard to believe that you do.
Thank you.
Venus!
- Get in here, get in here. - I'm so proud of you!
- Get in my picture. - Take a picture.
Come on, come on. Come on, Paul!
- Say, "Venus!" - Venus!
That's it. That's it.
Bad sportsmanship.
Yes!
Can I take a picture with the winner!
Right there. Hold it.
- You look so good. - So proud of you.
Let's go, Venus.
Hey, Kelly. Kelly, Kelly. It was out. Call it.
It was out.
- What? - I know, she's lying.
No, no... no, it wasn't.
- It wasn't out, though. - Can they do that?
- It's all right. That's okay, junior. - They can't do that.
Just do what you do.
- Just cheating. - That's all right.
Just watch this one.
- Come on, Venus. - —You got this, v.
30—40.
- Yeah! Yeah! - —Yeah, v, good job! Yeah!
All right. All right. All right. That's it.
- Come on, y'all. - What's wrong?
- That's okay. - What's wrong? You won.
Okay, you can smile. You can smile.
That was good. A little adversity, that's okay.
- You're missing it. - No, I can hear everything with that ball.
- Good play. - Come on!
You got this.
- Did you see any of it? - Yeah, I saw some of that.
- Okay, come on, y'all. Come on. - Wait, where's meka? She okay?
Yeah, she's fine. She's just bored. Said she knew you would win.
- You were so good. - Thank you.
Did you see it?
I told you that girl was a pusher.
Yeah, Paul calls that "playing Patty-cake."
That's why she got moded.
Moded. Corroded. Your Booty exploded.
40-15.
Thank you.
Cheese!
There you go. There you go.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you.
- Nice meeting you. - Nice to meet you.
- You did real good. - Bye.
You should be very proud of yourself.
You did good. Well done.
Mommy, look!
The first place junior tennis tournament is presented to...
Venus Williams!
- Go, v! - She won!
She won. She won.
Moded. Corroded. Your Booty exploded.
That looked kinda heavy up there. Let me see.
Let me see that big ol' thing. Ooh, I'm about to drop it.
- Were you nervous at all, v? - Why is she nervous?
That girl looked like she was 18 and Venus still whupped her anyway.
- Yeah! - Yes, she did.
Okay, that's enough of that back there. No more tennis talk.
- And stop all that bragging. - Daddy, we're not bragging.
Oh, you're not? What you doing?
I mean, it's just the truth and... Here's the proof.
That's right.
All right now, let's hear what I'm saying. Stop all that bragging.
Richard, they're not bragging.
- They bragging. I'm listening to 'em. - They're having fun.
- I know what bragging sounds like. - The girl won. She's just happy.
Look, junior won, the other girl lost. Everybody did their best.
And I'm not gonna hear no more about it now.
If that was that girl's best, then she needs to practice some more.
I'm just sayin'. Jeez.
Okay, you big shots. Here's five bucks. Go on and get me something to drink.
-I wanna get something... —stop!
- Give the money to tunde. - Stop arguing.
Why they always taking the money from me? Daddy gave it to me, not you, tunde.
Richard... where are you going?
They wanna brag, let them brag about how they walked three miles home.
Richard, you can't leave those girls like that!
I done told them I didn't wanna hear nothing about no tennis and no bragging.
Stop! Stop!
You can't leave them back there like that. Leaving 'em out on the streets like that.
- You can't do that. - Okay, look at me. Listen here.
I'm listening. You go back and get my girls.
When these matches is over,
I don't wanna hear nothing about no tennis. Okay?
They can talk about kingdom hall,
they can talk about dinosaurs, they can talk about space.
Space?
Why is it that you gotta ruin everybody else's day?
You don't wanna be happy so you don't want nobody else to be happy.
This ain't about being happy. It's about bragging.
You don't want nobody else to be happy
so you gotta make everybody else upset.
I have never in my life... Never, ever, met somebody
who just don't want to be happy.
- I don't want no bragging. - You go back and get my girls.
- They coming now. - That's what you do.
They right down on the street.
I can't believe he done left us.
Daddy, where were you going? I thought you were leaving us.
Yeah, I was. Thank your mother. She made me come back.
Who got my change?
Family meeting.
We gonna watch something.
We gonna watch. We gonna learn.
Cinderella?
Okay.
Okay, what you learn?
- Isha? - To be polite?
Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
- That's good. Lyn? - To be brave.
Brave? Explain how you mean.
Well, you gotta be pretty brave to take a ride in a pumpkin.
- Okay, go to your room. - —but...
'Cause you fooling with me, and I'm not fooling with you.
Go ahead, go to your room.
Okay! —junior?
Never stop dreaming, I guess.
Mm-hm. That's good. Come on, meek.
Remember your shoes?
Okay, that's good, but everybody's wrong.
- So we gonna watch the film again. - No, Richard. No.
Lyn, come on out here. We watching this film again.
No, ain't nobody listening. If you're not gonna listen to the film...
They answered your questions.
- They answered your questions. - Okay. All right. Hold on. Hold on.
The point is she was humble.
No matter how them peoples treated her, no matter how disrespected...
She stayed calm, she kept her heart clean.
She was humble.
Now, we gonna go out here and we gonna play these matches
and we gonna compete.
But we gonna stay humble else we not gonna do it.
All right, y'all can go ahead with yourself.
You feel good about yourself?
- I mean, I think they got the point. - Never drive off on my kids again.
- Oh, that's where you still at? - Ever. Yes, it is. Yes, it is.
Okay, okay, now when these balls is wet, they heavy.
So you can't let them hit the ground 'cause they not gonna bounce.
If they hit the ground, they gonna skid.
I need you to take it right out the air.
Take it right out the air.
Right out the air.
There you go.
I like that. I like that.
Don't let it bounce. Don't let it bounce. Don't let it bounce.
Boom! Boom!
Oh, now that shot right there gonna make me call the police.
That's the shot I got to call the police.
Well, at least ain't nobody gonna have to take no bath tonight.
- Hey. - Get back, get moving. Hey.
See what y'all are doing out there.
Don't sweat it, we good. We got you.
Okay, go ahead, I got this. Y'all get in the car.
Come on.
- Daddy, why are the police here? - I don't know.
So you sometimes don't get to have dinner before you go to sleep?
No, ma'am.
What's going on? Everybody okay?
They got a call.
Said there was trouble in the house, that we were being rough with the girls,
and they needed to look.
- A call from who? - Not at Liberty to say.
- Okay, okay. - Yeah.
You all need to look around?
Go ahead, you can check on in the cupboards.
Maybe you can go check under their beds, make sure there's no monsters.
It's a little wet for practice, don't you think?
- Don't the girls have schoolwork to do? - They do their homework.
Tunde's first in her class. Lyn and isha are too.
That's right. Girls, spell "civilization."
C—i-v-i-I—i-z—a—t—i-o-n.
- Mr. Williams, this is not necessary. - Hold on. Hold on.
You wanna check on the kids? Let's check on the kids.
We got future doctors and lawyers, plus a couple tennis stars in this house.
Now, I understand you got to do your job,
even if some crazy-ass neighbor do call, talking foolishness.
And I don't even mind you saying we hard on these kids, you know why?
'Cause we are!
That's ourjob, to keep 'em off these streets.
You want to arrest us for that? Fine.
But what you not gonna never do is come knock on this door
talking about you had to blow their damn brains out in them streets
'cause they running with hoodlums and doing drugs and things.
That's what you not never gonna say in this house.
You wanna arrest us for that? That's fine.
You need to be arresting them parents at them tennis matches.
That's who needs to be getting arrested.
Just over there bustin' his chops.
- You know how these police be. - Mm-hm.
As usual. No business.
- Hey, where you going? - I'll be back.
- Hey, Betty. - Oracene.
- I've never been over here before. - You haven't.
- That's a shame. - It is.
I know you know how hard it is raising a daughter.
I have five of them.
Five.
Don't make me come back over here again.
All right, Venus, you're running a little late.
It's about to start. So you're on court three.
- Good luck out there. - Thank you.
Okay, come on, come on, come on.
Can't be the only black peoples here and be late.
-Hey.
- Name? - Tiffany. Last name is Tanner.
Serena Williams. Ten and under. I'm signing in, too.
Oh. Okay. Let me find you here.
You are on court nine. I'll send your opponent right over.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
There you go.
Great shot, Venus Williams. Good decision.
Your daughter looks good out there.
Yeah, thank you. She a little tight today.
No, I mean the little one. She looks like a champ, too.
Could have warned us, man. I didn't know you had two.
May as well let her finish.
Come on!
Whoo!
What you doing?
You done started, now you might as well finish.
Go on. Just make sure you have fun.
That's all we here to do. Go ahead. Have fun.
Serena Williams!
- You knew about this? - No.
Mm-mm.
That's real.
Hey, you want it? We can swap.
- I like silver better anyway. - Good. I like gold.
"At a time when tennis prodigies seem to be surfacing every week,
the latest hot prospect is californian, Venus Williams."
There she go.
"Last weekend, Williams captured her 17th singles title
in less than a year by winning the age 12 and under
southern California junior sectional championship."
Listen to this, y'all. "In the first place,
she played like she was 16..."
Incident of police brutality in Los Angeles.
CNN's Robert vito has the story, but first this word of caution.
Some of you may be disturbed
by the violent nature of the pictures contained...
"Her concentration was excellent. Boy, did she wax me."
- That's from Dorothy Cheney, y'all. - Dang, Venus, you're famous.
One step at a time.
What appears to be a group of Los Angeles police officers
beating a suspect with nightsticks and kicking him as other officers look on.
George hollida y,
who works for a drain cleaning company,
taped the incident...
- Tunde. - I'll get it.
Please.
Police say the suspect, who is black,
- was driving more than 100 miles an hour. - At least they got them on tape this time.
Hello, Samson security service.
The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Rodney Glen king...
Daddy, the phone's for you.
The guy's an agent and wants to talk to you about representation.
I was at a clinic in Oakland,
when a young girl came up and asked me,
"what do we do if our friends pressure us to do drugs?"
And without thinking I said, "just say no."
Pretty incredible.
Your girls are standing with the former first lady of the United States.
You did that.
Enjoy the tennis, everyone.
There's the man.
Richard, I want you to meet George MacArthur and laird stabler.
- George. Laird. Hi. - Richard, nice to meet you.
- We spoke on the phone. - Oh, that's right. Good to meet you.
George is the head of their agency, right here.
- That the big boss. - That's the big boss right there.
- Yeah, I can tell by the cigar. - —oh.
Sit down, guys.
- Come on, sit down. - Oh, thank you, yes.
Heck of a girl you got there. Just incredible.
Love to help you take her to the next level. Yeah.
- Can I get you anything? - —usual
- fine, thank you. - I'll have an Arnold Palmer, please.
I'm good.
Well, thanks for coming, Richard. What do you think of the club?
Oh, it's really great.
We appreciate everybody taking off their hoods before we came in.
- Richard... - We like that.
No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding.
It's, uh... we've been here a couple of times.
Well, uh, Richard, first off, we would just like to congratulate you
on a great job you've done so far. Quite honestly, it's incredible.
- It's incredible? - Yes.
I'm sure you know, but laird here is the best.
- Mm-hm. - Well...
He discovered capriati when she was ten. Mary Pierce, too.
And we believe that Venus can be bigger than both.
I'm sorry, you, uh...
You said two times already. You said it's incredible.
- Yeah. - And why is what we did so incredible?
Oh, I just meant with your resources and your experiences.
Richard, I think all that laird is saying is that
you've done an incredible job with the girls.
Hold on. Hold on, Paul.
That is a full-grown adult man sitting right there.
He don't need you to say what he said.
If you was gonna say what he said, you could have said it back at the house.
We could have saved everybody the trouble of coming to this meeting.
Now, I asked this man a simplified question.
He over-emphasizing how incredible it is...
"It's so incredible" what we did.
I see all these white kids around here. He ain't saying how incredible that is.
Let him answer the question.
- Okay. That's why we're here. - Why it's so incredible what we did?
We're here to ask questions.
I'm sorry. I mean, I certainly did not mean to...
Make any offense there, Mr. Williams. I'm very sorry.
I just meant with your background...
Our background. Now, of course, what you mean is our race.
No, it's okay. I get it.
You know, little black girl, all-white sport.
That's why we picked tennis.
Your little, uh... ghetto cinderella. Your ghetto-rella.
Well, that's exactly what we're talking about, Richard.
We think Venus could be very inspirational
to a whole group of people who quite honestly, as an industry,
we have not done enough to reach.
Venus can open a lot of doors. And we'd like to help her do it.
Okay. So, uh, what you offering?
Whatever you need. Shoes, coaches, rackets.
Rackets?
They offering rackets?
We wouldn't even be sitting here if you hadn't seen
what they had done with their rackets.
- That's true. Fair enough. Yes. - Come on. You sure you the best?
- Well, I don't know. He said it. - Richard, can I be frank?
I think you should be whoever the hell you wanna be.
What Venus needs now is more court time and training,
the right tournaments and exposure.
That's a hundred grand a year, easy.
You sign with us and we'll help you carry that burden.
Let us take it from here.
Let us make this a sure thing.
You don't want to risk all that, do you, Richard?
I think I'MMA go get in the pool. Uh, we'll talk later.
Lovely to meet you.
What the hell was that?
Okay, here you go.
- Thank you. - What you all doing?
- Hey, daddy. You hungry? - You want something to eat?
- Where the food I packed for you? - Don't worry. It's all on our tab.
- Mm-hm. - It's on your tab?
It's no big deal, Mr. Williams. All the food here is for free.
Nothing's for free. Somebody's paying for it.
Put it down.
Put it... don't you bite that cookie one more time.
Put it down.
Let's go. Get your little tabs out in the bus.
- Bye. - Bye, you guys.
Daddy, what's wrong?
What's wrong? You sitting at some country club
with your legs all crossed like you queens of sheba from somewhere.
Never take anything from anybody for free.
Everything in this place got hooks in it.
No, don't touch us, panty-man!
Y'all be careful.
- Hey, girls. - Hi, mr Cohen.
Heya...
- Hey, Paul. - Hey, oracene, how you doing?
All right. I'll get you something to drink.
Yeah, sure. That'd be great.
So what are we doing here, Richard?
What the hell was that back there?
- Yeah, we... we not doing this. - Not doing what?
We not signing with none of them agents. We not playing no more juniors.
Have you lost your mind?
Venus is 63-and-oh, okay?
You pull her out ofjuniors now, you're gonna ruin her.
Those girls need to play matches or they're gonna die on the vine.
Yeah, I... I done heard the risk...
But this junior circuit is worse than the ghetto.
Kids out there cracking up, burning out.
- Their parents ought to be shot. - What are you talking about?
Your daughters are fine.
Oh, yeah, they fine now. But you heard them agents,
they talking about pushing them up the ladders,
and nationals and internationals.
They just... they don't need all that pressure. Okay?
They will play matches when they turn pro.
And right now they need to just do what they're doing.
- They need to just be kids. - No, there will be no pros, Richard.
And even if there were, you don't sign with an agent,
how're you guys going to afford all their training till then?
- Let me worry about that. - Did you know about this?
Richard, don't do this.
Every American player who's ever done anything got good following this path.
- Mac, Tracy, agassi, Pete. - Yep.
This window you guys have is so freaking small.
- Yep. - And it will close.
I know you don't want to believe me, but it will.
Everybody talking about this window, this window they got to get through.
But peoples like us, we get shot when we go through those.
So I'm thinking we just gonna pause right here,
and then when the time is right,
we just gonna walk through the front door.
Man, I don't understand.
You do not have a clue.
You are pissed off because some guy insulted you today,
- so now you wanna walk away. - Mm-mm.
You are the most stubborn person I have ever met in my life.
And I coach mcenroe.
We appreciate everything you've done, Paul.
But this part of our relationship is done.
And we will no longer be requiring your services anymore.
Richard, no good coach is gonna take them for free
if they're not playing juniors.
Well, you did. Remember?
And I think you're a pretty good coach.
All right.
I just pray you don't screw this up.
Yeah, we appreciate your prayers, Paul.
Mm-hm.
Okay, panty-man, we gonna get her!
Oracene.
Come on, before panty-man gets you.
- Hey. - Hey.
I'll see you at wimbledon, kid.
Are we a team?
Are we a team? We... we a family.
So we're a team?
- A family the best kind of team there is. - And you don't think that was a decision
that you should have discussed with me?
Discussed with Venus?
Richard, my faith dictates that I stand by your side.
- All right, just do that, then. - Don't mistake my silence for agreement.
You do that again, and I won't be quiet.
- Now, don't do that to me. - You don't make a fool out of me.
- Who made a fool out of you? - You.
- You made a fool out of me. - What are you talking about?
- Don't make a fool out of me. - Ain't nobody make no fool out of you.
Good feet. Excellent. Get there. Work! Excellent.
I like it. I like it. Hey, who's aggressive?
- Who wants this point? - Rick. Rick.
This guy Richard Williams keeps calling. It's like the tenth time in a row.
Told me to tell you it's urgent.
Urgent? What's so urgent? His backhand?
You gotta get that ball.
No, some, uh, father in California.
Says he's got two daughters, that they're the best in the state.
Yeah, let me guess, next Jennifer capriati?
These girls so great, how come I've never heard of 'em?
They're from Compton.
Compton?
All right, keep working. Cuz, it's on you.
- Let's keep those lines going! - Let's go, guys.
- You guys are late. - Sorry.
Let's go. Move, move, move.
I like that. I like the visor. Are you eating that?
You put crap like that in your mouth, your game's gonna go south.
- Hey, Barry, which line? - Line two.
Line two. Okay.
This is Rick macci.
He's here! He's here! He's here! He's here!
Okay, okay. Relax, relax. Everybody, come on, get in your positions.
Let's go.
Mr. Macci. Welcome, welcome.
Hello, everybody.
- Hello. - Hi.
- I'm Richard Williams. - Mr. Williams.
This my wife. This Brandy.
- Hi, it's an honor. - We glad to see you.
- It's great to be here. - This is all our kids. This our family.
That's Venus, Serena, tunde, lyn, isha.
- —Hello. - Hi.
Thank you for coming. We know you came a long way,
so we won't waste your time. You want to get over to the club?
- Let's get it started. - Come on, girls, let's go.
- Mr. Macci a busy man. - Be great, be great.
Come on, y'all, let's go. Get on in there.
Grab the door here.
Wow. So, uh...
Tell me one more time, which one of you is, uh...
Big one, Venus. Little one, Serena.
Okay. I think I can handle that.
Oh, don't worry about that. You don't need that.
Bye, guys!
We got Rick macci in Compton!
There you go, meka. Take that. And that.
- Close her down, Richard? - Yeah, you can just close it up.
Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, haircut. Hell you think you going?
Uh, well... Just gonna play some tennis.
Hey, yo, Richard!
This Jimmy Connors-looking cracker with you?
- Uh, yeah, yeah, white boy with us. - All right, it's spoke.
- Yeah, he just white. - I am that.
- Get up out of here. - I ain't gonna let you get shot, Rick.
Appreciate it.
- —This is it, huh? - This it.
Compton country club.
Really good, really good, really good.
They ain't gonna hit you. They ain't gonna hit you.
Go get it. Forehand.
Pop! Excellent. Backhand.
Attagirl, go! Move. Fast feet. Good recovery.
Excellent. Recover.
Wheels, wheels, recover. Go!
Good! Again!
Hey, I like it. Find the slot, rip the shot.
- That's Rick macci. - Again!
Where you get that power from?
Macci rhyme with "crazy."
I'm sorry, was it something I said?
I think it's the 'stache. I think she doesn't like the guy with the 'stache.
Get there. I love it. Come on in for the approach.
Yes! Come on. Get there.
What do you say? Fight it like you're angry.
Oh, I like it! Excellent work.
Hey, girls. Hey. I love what you're doing.
- Excellent job. - There you go!
Put it right there. Did you guys have fun?
- Yeah. - Good, good, good. I like it.
That father of yours, he's done a heck of a job,
so, uh, this was a lot of fun for me too.
So, thank you, girls. Thank you.
Richard, I'm, uh... I'm impressed.
Y'all go get some water. Get some water.
They're, uh... they're terrific. I think...
I think you mightjust have the next Michael Jordan on your hands.
Oh, no, brother-man... I gots me the next two.
I like the way you think.
This here... This is my standard agreement.
Same one I used with Jennifer. All right?
Instruction, housing, food, education. You don't pay for a thing.
Even trips to Disney world, which is right down the road.
But... uh, mostly, it's... It's my personal time.
Now, that I promise you will get.
You train at Rick macci, you're gonna... You're gonna train with Rick.
Sounds expensive. What's in it for you?
My fee is 15 percent of their future earnings.
If you make nothing, I make nothing.
But, uh, I can tell you one thing, we are not gonna make nothing.
What you know about Nick bollettieri?
- He a real famous tennis coach. - Sure, uh...
The boy keep calling here. Can't get him off the phone.
Yeah, Nick is, uh... he's a good coach.
You know, he's had a lot of success, but, uh... I can tell you now,
you go down to bradenton to train with Nick, you're not gonna get Nick.
You're gonna get whatever hitting coach he's got available.
You're gonna... gonna get a factory.
Now, you train with me, I'm your coach. It's me.
A lot of people say Nick the best.
Mm-hm.
- Remember that man who said that? - Mm-hm.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams, whether it's Nick or Rick,
Tom, dick, or Harry, it doesn't matter.
If it's their dream to be a champion, well, then you got a chance.
But, you know, if it's yours, mine, no.
Crash and burn. It's not gonna happen. So...
You want to go with Nick, then...
You know, you gotta go with Nick. That's your prerogative.
No, we wanna go with you.
Oh! Thank heavens. I was...
We just wanted to hear you say what you had said.
Well... well done.
Whoo!
Tunde. Uh... — Ah!
Now, this here is our standard agreement.
I'm sorry, your...
You know, you take these girls, you take us all, the whole family.
I'm sorry, you... You all wanna come to Florida?
Not tunde. She just graduated valedictorian.
So, her life is here.
- Congratulations. - Thank you, sir.
Yeah, but all that other stuff that's in that contract, we need that.
We need a house, we need the best school, and a job for me on your staff.
It says here, a... mobile home?
Yeah, I mean, we got to get there, don't we?
You believe in these kids or what?
You bet I do. I swear to you two. You bet I do.
Okay, then why are we still sitting here? We supposed to be in Florida.
What are we doing? Let's go to Florida.
- Oh, thank you. - Can you get me one?
Here you go. No, we can share that.
No, 'cause y'all wouldn't let me sit with you.
You keep your hand on that wheel.
She got it. Do you need me, junior?
- No, I got it. - Put at least one hand on that wheel.
- What's up? Hey, police. - Hi, police!
We were just breaking the law. Sorry.
Okay, spell "Albuquerque."
A-I-b—u-q...
No. A... can't be I-r.
- A-I-b... q... - The word got, like, three q's.
No, don't tell 'em. Let 'em do it.
Know when to hold 'em
know when to fold 'em
know when to walk away and know when to run
you never count your money
when you're sittin' at the table
there 7! Be time enough for counting when the dealing's done
- Look at that. We in Florida. - Oh, this is so pretty!
There you go. Welcome to Florida.
- Rick macci, here we come. - Rick macci, there we go.
- There they are. Wow, look at that. - Hi!
Hello, everybody. Welcome to the sunshine state.
Gosh, it's great to see you guys, huh? How was the trip? Was it good?
Yeah. It was long.
- Long? Yeah, I bet it was. - It wasn't long. It was not long.
Richard, do you see that blue bad boy right there?
- Mm-hm. - I call it the comet.
I like to ride around, makes me feel like I own the place.
Which is crazy 'cause, you know, I kinda do.
- That gonna be mine. - Girls, these are the drilling courts.
That's Tommy ho. He won the us junior nationals at 15.
He's top 50 in the country. That's Eric taino. That's John roddick.
They're both top five in the country right now for their age group.
- Now, John, he's got a little brother. - Yeah, he good.
His name's Andy. That kid is a savage. He breathes fire.
He's good. Wait till I get my hands on him.
This is it right here.
Let's go. Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig!
Feet. You hear that sound? That sound is effort. I love effort.
That's my happy place. Come with me. This is where we eat.
Hey, guys, don't eat too many of these things, all right?
This will give you horns.
Best French fries in Florida.
Now, look, this place will always be open and available to you guys.
- You help yourselves whenever you want. - All right, good, 'cause I'm hungry.
For real? We just ate.
You got some place here, Rick.
And it just got a lot better today.
- Come on, Richard, let's go. - Over here. Look at 'em walking off.
Try the cinnamon rolls. They're first class.
What you got over there? That's the... the chum?
Yeah, you know, you got a good eye, Richard.
- Mm-hm. - You know how that works.
You need a few cheeseburgers to pay for the sirloin.
You sell enough sirloin, you can get to the fillet mignon.
Oh, there you go.
Here we are, girls. This is mecca.
These two courts here, they're yours. Just you and me and the best pros we got.
This is where we hit the horn, we pop the corn, and when we pop it,
-we pop with extra butter, right? —right.
- Huh? You feel me? Yeah? - Yep.
- Bang. - Bang.
- Right? Bang. - Bang.
Now, look, I got a little surprise for you.
This... this won't happen every day, but since she's here,
I thought maybe you'd wanna hit a little bit.
Jennifer!
Oh, look. That's Jennifer capriati.
Hey. I hear you guys can play. You wanna hit?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- —Can we? - Yeah. Just take it easy on her though.
- Let's go, meka. - Have fun girls.
This is really special. Have fun!
This is special for her, too. I told her all about the girls,
and she wanted to meet Venus, so, yeah.
Yeah, you know how to throw a party.
Well, it's good you guys are here.
- Nice to meet you. - Hey, girls.
All right, girls, let's go. Warm up slow.
Just have fun.
Look at that. That's gotta be special for her, huh?
Yeah. She looks strong.
She is. She is. A lot of work she's put in.
She's gonna get there. V's gonna get there.
That's it. Attagirl. Good. I like it.
I mean, look at that. That's... that's the model right there.
Now, I figure we mold her in Jennifer's path.
We start with the easter bowl, then the orange bowl.
- Just like how Jennifer did it, right? - Yep.
They're good tournaments, they're challenging.
I'm thinking we not gonna play the easter bowl though, Rick.
Okay, well, you... Got another tournament in mind?
No, uh...
I meant to tell you, uh... We not playing no more juniors.
Yeah, they'll play matches again when they turn pro.
Okay.
And when exactly is that gonna be, Richard?
When I say they ready. We're not gonna rush this, Rick.
Everything going good. We not gonna start rushing now.
Uh... what are they gonna do, Richard?
What... they gonna play ping-pong?
No, no. They gonna practice with you.
They gonna go to school, they gonna go to the hall.
And pretty much, they gonna be kids. That's what I want.
They're gonna be... be kids? But...
Richard, that's... That is not how it works.
I... I can't do that.
I can't mold her like that. You need to play juniors.
Look, there's not a single player, not one, on the pro tour
that didn't play juniors. Without juniors, it's impossible.
Well, not for you. Not for you. You Rick macci.
That's why we drove all this way.
Nothing is impossible for Rick macci.
But if you think you can't do it, we can go talk to Nick.
You know, you might have mentioned this in Compton.
I probably could have, but then you wouldn't have made
the best decision you ever made in your life.
This is great, Rick.
Oh, and I need 'em hitting open-stance strokes.
- —Ah, god. - That's the most important.
They got to hit them open-stance strokes.
We gonna make it go "boom" like you said. Remember? Make it go boom.
Yeah, I... I said "bang," but, yeah.
You said, "bang," "boom," we gonna make some noise.
I got to get the family. They need to see this.
I'MMA grab a burger. You want something?
I don't want a burger.
Don't be scared, Rick. I wrote the plan.
Oh, god, the plan.
All right, Venus, serve it up.
Good! Hey, look at that.
Boom! I like it. How about that?
Bang! Come on, get in there and dig!
Kill it. I like it. Good. Good, good. Hey, listen.
That wasn't a good shot at the end. Do you know why?
It was excellent.
'Cause it was excellent. Good.
I'm proud of ya. Excellent work. Let's go. I'll race you to the water.
You've faced a lot of criticism in the last three years
since you pulled your daughters out of junior tournament tennis.
- Mm-hm. - You've been called controversial,
overbearing, a self-promoting distraction.
- Mm-hm. - How do you respond to all that?
Well, look, peoples gonna say what peoples gonna say.
You know, when somebody come to me, telling me my daughter so good,
and she, you know, she need to be playing matches,
I know the only reason they see good is 'cause they see money.
And most of the time they see money that can be going into they pocket.
But you've certainly said a lot of provocative things.
You've said "tennis parents should be shot."
You've said you're brokering a deal to purchase rockefeller center.
Yep.
Well, truth is, I got so many businesses now,
I hardly even think about tennis.
And you're not concerned all that's holding them back?
Most top prospects their age, like martina hingis for example,
- are about to turn pro. - Yeah.
But your daughters haven't played a match since 1991.
Well, we still pushing 'em forward.
Venus speaking four languages. Most of 'em fluently, almost.
How many languages you speak?
Exactly. Not even really good at this one.
Look, look, I've been broke all my life,
and Venus don't wanna be poor, you know.
But we not gonna let nobody push our daughter into nothing she ain't ready for.
- Okay. All right, I'MMA get Venus. - Thank you.
Y'all can go ahead and move and set up up top.
Now, fast feet. Fast feet. Fast feet. Good. Here they come.
Here's it come. You don't know when it's coming.
Let's go. You don't know. Go! React. Good! I like it. Let's go. Move.
Yes, like a bullet. Yes, I like it!
Boom, that's major league. Let's go. Fast feet. Fast feet.
Junior!
When you're moving, I'm grooving. Good. Get there.
You got an interview. Come on, let's go.
Come on. Hey, v, we got two more hours.
I'm telling you now, you leave this court, your sister's taking over.
Sorry, Rick, it's showtime.
Yeah, it's always showtime, isn't it, Richard?
Hey, meek, let's go. I know someone wants to be here.
- Do you want to turn pro? - Yes.
A lot of people are excited to see how you'd do against players like seles.
Do you think you can beat her?
I know I could beat her.
You know you can beat her? Very confident.
I'm very confident.
You say it so easily. Why?
Because I believe it.
But you haven't played a match in almost three years.
All right, hold it right there. If you don't mind, lemme tell you why.
Richard, we're doing an interview.
Well, what she had said, she said it with so much confidence the first time.
- But you keep going on and on. - You can't just keep interrupting...
What you gots to understand is you're dealing with
the image of a 14-year-old child.
And this child gonna be playing when your old ass and me gonna be in the grave.
When she had said something, we done told you what's happening.
You are dealing with a little black kid. Let her be a kid.
Now, she done answered it with a lot of confidence.
Leave that alone!
Focus. That's it. It's all about your eyes.
Focus. Right there. Good. Turn it over. Good.
Sharp. Again. Again. Sharp. Let's go.
One, two, right there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
Let's go. Keep moving. Keep moving. Fast feet.
What's going on, Shakespeare? Good.
- Did you get the part? - Yeah, it was good.
Rick, what's going on over there?
Ah... big junior tournament's coming up. The continental cup.
Hoopla's for kournikova. She's getting some practice in.
I heard she's going pro next month in Russia.
- Hingis announced too. - Yeah, they, uh... they are.
But look, Russia's overrated. The weather's lousy, the food's terrible.
But, Rick, iwanna play.
Sweetheart, you're preaching to the choir, okay?
- Do you think I'm ready? - No, I know you're ready.
- Okay, will you talk to my dad? - Sweetheart, look...
- Rick, please. You know I'm ready. - Trying to feed me to the wolves here.
- Look, I've been down this road... - Rick, just talk to him. Please.
Please?
All right, all right, all right, all right, all right.
- You know... - Is that a yes?
It's that face. It's your face. It's like I can't...
- —So, yes? - You give me the face... yes, yes.
- Yes! Yes! - All right, all right, all right.
- Oh, boy. Here we go. Let's just... - That's a yes.
Hope he doesn't actually kill the messenger.
- He said yeah? - He said yes.
Jesus.
Think fast. Put those on, train your sister.
I need a break to figure out how I'm gonna talk to this maniac.
- Let's go. Put your gloves on. - Let's go.
The main reason we not rushing, 'cause without an education,
no matter how good you are, by the time they 18,
they gonna be broke and have 50 more years to live like a fool.
We not doing that. Oh, look at that!
- What's going on, everybody? - There's Rick macci.
Rick own everything you see as far as you can see.
True. Hey, uh... Richard, do you think I could, um, bend your ear for a minute?
Oh, yeah, sure thing. Girls, take the kids down to the court.
I'll meet you down there. You can go with them.
- I'll talk to you in a second. - Thank you.
Rick got that look on his face like he need to say something to me
that I'm not gonna wanna hear.
Have fun, kids.
- You have great teachers. - Lemme give you a ride in your cart.
She got the fire in her eye, that one. Thank you. I miss this sucker.
Richard, there's a...
There's a tournament in Oakland coming up.
It's called the bank of the west.
- Mm-hm. - Now, I called the director.
He said they'd, uh, give Venus a wild card if we committed now.
Also, my friend Patrick, he's from Nike,
he's gonna be there, and he's available for a sit-down.
- I don't like that, Rick. - You don't like what? Wait a second.
Don't talk to peoples behind my back.
- I'm not talking to anybody. Wait... - You know I don't like that.
Hang on a second. Will you just hear me out, please?
Look, she's... she's 14 years old.
Hingisjust turned pro. Kournikova, she's going soon.
I don't understand why we would give them a head start.
Jennifer, she... she'd been on the cover of a freaking wheaties box by now.
And I know I'm not supposed to say this,
but Venus is twice as good as Jennifer ever was.
- Jennifer just dropped off the tour. - Nah, she didn't.
She didn't drop off the tour. She's taking a break, okay?
- Rick, tell me the truth. - It's a vacation. I am telling the truth.
- Peoples are saying that she burnt out. - She's not burned out.
Jennifer is fine, but you know what? So is Venus.
Come on, man.
Look, she's ready. Let's get this show on the road.
I can see it in her eyes. She's hungry. She's got the fire.
- Come on, Richard. What do you say? - Did she send you here to talk to me?
- You're gonna beat me? - I'm gonna hit it now.
Okay, it's not just my idea.
- Rick, I don't say this to you too often. - —right.
- But you are not wrong. - So, does that...?
But that's all you're getting from me today. Okay?
- —Okay. - Just let me think about it.
- I'll take it. - All right.
Thank you for your time, Richard.
You can borrow your cart if you want.
Uh, that's okay, Richard, you hang onto it.
It looks great on you.
- No, just have it back in 40 minutes. - —okay.
Oh, my gosh.
Again! Again!
You gotta get it in. You can't fault on that.
- Thank you. - Here you go, sir.
My wife think I got a girlfriend down here,
I be coming to get your burgers so much.
She don't know I'm cheating on her cooking.
Jennifer capriati now faces her most serious court battle.
The 18-year-old was arrested after police showed up
at her coral gables hotel room to check a tip about a runaway.
They say that they found a small amount of marijuana.
Police say a runaway girl and a 19-year—old man
did show up at capriati's room.
They were arrested on charges of heroin and suspected crack cocaine possession.
Let's go!
What do you say? What do you say? Time to get sharp for the bay.
Little steps, big results.
What's going on? Where is everybody?
Come on, guys, somebody say something. What's going on?
- They're at Disney world. - They're what?
They're at Disney world.
Richard said practice is cancelled for today.
Ah, you gotta be...
- There go Rick. Hey, Rick! - Hey, Richard.
Okay, let's go.
Come on. Homework. You got homework.
- Hello, everybody. - Hey.
You guys have a good time?
- I rode on space mountain. - Did ya? Were you scared?
I was not scared. They were crying like babies.
- I like those ears. - Don't drop that.
Richard, maybe if I could just get a minute? Thank you.
There was, uh...
- We had a practice scheduled. - —Uh—huh.
Tournament's just a few weeks away, so, you know, we gotta practice.
Yeah, well... I decided we not playing that tournament.
Daddy, what?
- Why? What happened? - It's okay, junior.
I'm not gonna let him burn you out like he did capriati.
- —What? - I'm sorry, like I did with what?
- Well, you was her coach, right? - Mommy...
That's all you been saying is, "look at Jennifer. Look at Jennifer."
Well, we looking. She on TV, her mugshot. Arrested.
Venus is not gonna be cracked out in some alley 'cause you pushed her there.
It's not fair.
Venus, don't you get upset. Don't you let him see you upset. Come on.
You proud of yourself? Just broke her heart.
I tell you what, man... I'm getting pretty tired of your games.
- My games? What games? - These games.
You showed up here, first thing you did, you pulled 'em out ofjuniors.
Now you pull 'em out of practice. You do it constantly.
For music lessons, or homework, or church.
Look, they got to get straight a's, else they can't play tennis.
You knew that. I told you that. That's my rules.
Well, you pull 'em out to train with other coaches behind my back?
I'm trying to round out they games.
They not gonna get great doing the same drills
- every other junior in america is doing. - Thank you.
- I'm trying to look out for my kids. - No, you're looking out for yourself.
You know, all I hear from you is pressure. Pressure, pressure, pressure.
But you know what I see? On TV, I see it every day.
I see the Richard Williams show.
"A million dollars. Number one. The greatest of all time."
- You don't think that adds pressure? - It add confidence.
That's bullshit. It's about you.
Now, look, you wanna jerk my chain, go on and jerk it.
But do not do it to those girls.
Rick, all respects due...
We love you. You like a member of our family.
But you work for us.
- I wrote this plan. - Plan.
And when I say she's not playing, she is not playing.
I call the shots. And I'm sorry if you don't like that.
Richard, screw your freakin' plan.
You don't know what you're doing. You don't.
That is a nice house, by the way. Remind me, who pays for that?
Don't do that. Don't do that. You're a better man than that.
Are you going after her?
- Uh, she'll be fine. - No, she won't.
Go fix this.
I puts this whole thing together...
And now everybody seem to know better than me.
Richard, do you think you did this by yourself?
From the first day we met. Remember that? Out on that bus stop?
You didn't even tell me your real name.
'Cause you thought I was just another dumb nigga.
You just like them white boys. You never believed in none of this.
When did I not believe?
Huh? I want you to tell me, when did I not believe?
You not the only dreamer in this family.
Wouldn't be no dream if it wasn't for me.
I carried them inside me and on my back.
And I carried you, too.
Working two shifts so I could put food on your table.
That open stance, you got that from me.
Oh, you did that? Oh, okay.
And I fixed Serena's serve because you messed that up.
- —You did what? - Yes.
I fixed that toss because you messed it up.
- Mm-hm. - I'm here. I've been here,
dreaming and believing, just like you.
- Mm-hm. - You just don't wanna see me.
So... uh, what you want?
What you want? You want a thank-you?
That's all right, Richard.
That's all right. I don't need your thank-you.
Unlike you, I don't need the world to tell me I'm great.
See how you do? You see what you just did?
How you walk away when something's not finished.
- Come on. Come on. - Did you just see that?
You see that? That's what you do with all your businesses.
Remember the cement company business...
- Mm-hm. Mm-hm. - The cleaning company business.
All your other kids.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You sound like you got something you need to get off your chest.
Don't let god stop you. Say what you need to say.
Oh, I said it.
Your son showing up in that red Nissan truck, knocking on my door.
And all you had to say was, "oh, look, it's my son. He found me."
And then all your other kids showing up after that.
Okay.
See, another woman would have left.
- But I stay because I don't quit. - You...
You're the one who leaves.
Well, go ahead then. Go ahead. Don't...
I'm gonna stay right here until the job is done.
Don't stay here doing me no favors.
Richard, you think I'm staying here because of you?
I stay here because of my girls.
I stay here because I answer to something higher than Richard Williams.
And you better be glad, because if I was staying here for you...
I would have been gone a long time ago.
- Look at this house. - I'm looking.
- Look where you live. - I'm looking! I'm looking!
Where would you live if it wasn't for me? Where would you be?
Stuck in some apartment with three kids and no daddy.
That's where you would be.
Listen to you. That's your ego and your bragging.
You're just scared.
Scared you will fail.
Scared that the world will look at you and see...
Another dumb nigga.
And you know what? You think they might be right.
I have never, never thought that about you.
You've done your job.
And whether you wanna see it or not, I've done mine.
But this is Venus's life. You gotta let her decide.
Because if you don't trust her to do that, she's gonna be the one leaving you.
Mm-hm. Mm-hm.
So you wanna play?
I don't know why you won't let me.
Unless you think I'm not ready.
When I was a little boy, I grew up in shreveport.
One day my father took me to town.
He give me this money to pay this white man for something.
Back in them days, black folks weren't allowed to touch white peoples.
So I went to give the man this money, and I accidentally touched his hand.
And he start beating on me.
He knocked me down, his friends come over,
they all start stomping on me and beating on me.
And I look up and I see my father in the crowd...
And he took off running.
Left me there with these grown men beating on me.
Now, I haven't been no great daddy...
But I've never done nothing but try to protect you.
This next step you about to take...
It would be hard for anybody.
But for you... You not gonna just be representing you,
you gonna be representing every little black girl on earth.
And you gonna be the one gotta go through that gate.
And I just never wanted you to look up...
And see your daddy running away.
Daddy, you always said I'd be number one in the world, right?
Let's go out there and show all of those people
that I can handle what's coming.
And I'm not gonna let you down.
How could you, junior?
Come here.
Welcome to Oakland, California for the bank of the west classic,
where tomorrow, world number one and reigning us open champion,
arantxa sénchez vicario, will face a tough draw of challengers,
all hoping to take home the 400,000 dollar purse.
Among them, 14-year-old Venus Williams,
who takes the court in her first-e ver professional match.
In fact, it will be the first match Williams has played at any level
in more than three years,
since her father made the controversial decision
to pull her out of junior tournament tennis,
which is the normal conduit to tennis superstardom.
Many questions remain about how this talented youngster
will now fare under the pressure and spotlight of the professional tour,
against veteran players, after so long away from competition.
A worry even her outspoken father cannot hide.
We been working for this day for nine long, hard years.
Uh, you be saying, "we gonna get there, we gonna get there."
And, uh, finally you get there like today, and you find out, "wow..."
"We don't belongs here.
We belong some place else. We belong back in the ghetto."
A genius? A huckster? Tomorrow we will finally see.
Is his dream only hype, or is his daughter, in fact,
what the tennis world has been waiting for?
You did it, Richard.
Last year there was 24 media credentials for this tournament.
This year you got 200, so...
- You know what? That's him. - Okay. That's him.
We should get Venus, right?
- Guys, it's go time. Look alive. - Come on. The man is here.
- The Nike man here, y'all. Close that. - This is it. Guys, you're gonna go there.
- Yep. Get in your positions. - Okay, you ready?
- Hey, Patrick, how you doing? - Very well.
- How's Terri and the kids? - They're good.
- Billy still playing baseball? - Yeah, he's swingin' away.
- Hello. Patrick. Nice to meet you. - Richard Williams. This is oracene.
That's my wife, that's Brandy.
- You know who that is. - It's an honor to meet you.
That's who you brought that briefcase for.
That's right. Yeah.
Well, you had a long trip...
- Mm-hm. - And a big day tomorrow,
so I am not gonna take up too much of your time.
Now, I hope it is clear how highly we regard your daughter.
We'd like to take her off the table right now.
- That is three million dollars. - Whoo!
Signature shoe. Signature line.
We want to build our women's brand around Venus.
Make her a marquee player. How's that sound?
Well, I think, uh...
Well, actually... You need to be pitching her.
Well, Venus, what do you think? I mean, that is a generous deal.
It's a million more than capriati got before she went pro.
Plus, a real commitment to invest
in the charity and outreach programs you and your family support.
That's great.
We think you're gonna have a tremendous career
and we want to help you build it, starting today.
Uh...
- —It's, uh... - Yeah.
- —Um... - Uh...
Yeah, maybe... Maybe just have a minute.
- You know, just let the family... - Absolutely.
- No problem, just for... - Of course.
Just to be clear, this deal is for tonight only.
It's off the table as soon as you step on that court tomorrow, okay?
- Take your time. Talk about it. - Patrick, listen, thank you.
We'll just take a second. There is a heck of a seafood buffet.
Now, it's on the mezzanine level. You don't want to hit one or two...
Just fix your face till the man get out the door.
What does he mean by that?
Just let the man get out the door first.
No, I want to know what he means though.
We gonna talk about it when he leaves. Just let him get out the door.
What is going on?
I... what did he mean by, it's one night only?
- Tonight only? - Don't you worry about that.
- I want to understand. - He's just trying to scare us.
That's right. He's trying to scare us, and guess what?
I'm scared.
I'm frickin'... I'm frickin' terrified.
Guys, what... what is going on?
Three million dollars. What's the problem here?
- Rick, look... - Let me see.
They haven't even seen the girl play yet.
Yeah, no, that...
I mean, that's the point. They don't have to.
Richard, I... you did it.
Hey! You did it, Richard. Look, I thought you were nuts.
All the talking and the interviews and the nonsense.
But look, you were right, she's a star. Look at what it...
We won! This... why is everybody so glum? Please, guys?
Oracene, please, can you help me out here?
You need to be talking to Venus.
V? What's going on?
I just want to show them what I can do.
- —Okay. - I understand it's a good offer, but...
This is not a good offer. This is an unbelievable offer.
Guys, this is money that changes your lives.
That changes your family's lives. What do we...?
Rick, you asking this girl to take all the hard work she done did...
- Richard, stop it. Stop it! - Listen to me. Listen to me.
All the hard work she done did for the last ten years
and accept the first offer that come through the door.
- You know that's not right, Rick. - Richard, the draw's not even out yet.
Rick. The girl is asking for a opportunity to compete.
We don't even know who she's playing.
She don't care nothing about that.
Venus Williams, do you care who you play?
No, daddy.
Venus Williams, are you gonna beat whoever on the other side of that net?
Yes, daddy.
Venus Williams, do you wanna take this deal?
Well, there it is.
We're not taking the deal. Let's go get something to eat.
- Rick, you hungry? - No.
Come on, everybody, let's go.
Come on, Rick, you got to pay for this food.
Hey, y'all. Hey, everybody.
- Tunde! - There you go.
Look at that, look at that.
Yeah. Mister Rick is paying for us to go to a seafood buffet.
- Yeah. Yes, come on. - —Hi.
You knew about this?
Yes. Come on!
Game, Stafford. Stafford leads two games to love.
Fault!
- Fault! - Love-15.
Come on, v.
Fault!
Love-30.
Fight back now.
Come on, junior.
Love-40.
Oh!
Game, Stafford. Stafford leads three games to love.
She's looking a little tight out there. But, you know, she's gonna loosen up.
It's gonna be good. I'm gonna check out another match.
I'll talk to you later, okay?
30-40.
That's all right. That's all right.
Oh!
Game, Stafford. Stafford leads four games to love.
Hey, let it go now. Next game. Let that go.
- Yeah! - Love-15.
Attagirl, v.
There you go.
That's a great ball!
Game, Williams. Stafford leads four games to two.
- Let's go! - Game, Williams.
- There it is. There you go. - Four games all.
You were great tonight, Venus.
Were you surprised how you handled your nerves?
I was somewhat surprised, but somewhat not surprised.
I guess since I haven't played a tournament in a while,
I was surprised that I wasn't nervous orjumpy.
Tomorrow you play the top seed, vicario.
She's number one in the world, a three-time grand slam champ.
How do you think you'll hold up?
I think I have the game to beat anyone. I just have to play it.
- Also, I was wondering... - That's enough. Real good questions.
Let's go! Huh?
What did you do out there? I... I couldn't believe it. It's like...
- Okay, Rick, I gotta go. - It's like she's a... hired assassin.
I mean, it's like, unbelievable.
Richard, I talked to dougherty. He's upping the offer.
Four million dollars, Richard. Four million dollars.
We did it. We did it, Richard.
I think we just gonna keep our chips on the table though, Rick.
Wait, wait. Hey, Richard, no. She's playing vicario.
She's the best player on the planet.
She's the best player in the whole wide world. She can't beat her.
- But what if she do? - Richard, it doesn't work like that.
Oh, hey, bud. Bud. Good to see you. Still got them pretty pants on.
You missed out on this money though. I tried to tell ya.
You know him?
Rick, if she beats vicario, a 14-year-old who's never played a match,
walks off the street and beats the best player on the planet...
Forget Ali-Frazier, it'll be the greatest upset in the history of sports!
Yes!
_ohi
Meek. Come on.
I know you love Venus and all this is exciting, but...
It's a little hard for you too, huh?
Can I tell you a secret?
Your sister is gonna be number one in the whole world, no doubt about it.
I know that.
But you...
You gonna be the best there ever was.
You gonna be the greatest of all time.
You know how I know? 'Cause I planned for it.
I knew you was having a hard time in Venus's shadow,
but I kept you there 'cause I knew you was rough.
I knew you was tough, I knew you was a fighter.
That's why I did this whole thing like this.
Go on, take that in. You're up next.
Come on now. Move your feets.
One, two, three, four, five.
One, two, three, four, five, six.
- Now, whatever happens tonight... - Close. Close.
- Next time, ten. - I want you guys to remember...
That you come from a rich history of people.
Right? Like sojourner truth.
- Remember her? - Yes.
What did she say at seneca falls?
- What did she say? - "Ain't I a woman"?
That's right. That's right.
And what does that mean to you? What does that mean to you?
That she's strong, and that she can do anything.
Exactly.
That she was a young black woman, just like you guys.
And that she deserves to be seen, and that she deserves to be heard.
So, tonight I want you to remember who you are,
remember where you came from.
Stand tall and be proud in that.
All right?
Yeah. You gonna look beautiful.
You are beautiful, Venus.
You too, Serena.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Oakland on a beautiful night
for our second-round match between the reigning French and us open champion,
arantxa sa'lnchez vicario and Venus Williams,
the heralded 14-year-old from Compton, California,
who makes her center court debut here before a sold-out crowd tonight.
Waiting for my daughter to come out. She playing the next match.
- Love you, junior. - Love you too, daddy.
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the bank of the west classic...
- Good luck to you. - Oh, thank you.
For tonight's second-round match.
Making her center court debut here tonight and just her second professional match,
please give a warm bay area welcome
to the 14-year-old phenom from Compton, California...
Venus Williams!
Now, please join me in welcoming to the court,
hailing from Spain, a three-time grand slam champion,
and the number one seed... Arantxa sénchez vicario!
15-love.
Venus!
- 30-love. - There you go!
Y'all gonna miss it.
40-love.
Game, Williams. Williams leads, one-love.
That's how she do that.
Yep. Yep.
15-40.
Game, Williams. Williams leads two-love.
Game Williams. Williams leads,
- three games to love. - Whoo!
- First set. - See that? Flames come off that ball.
- 40-15. - That's it. That's it. You like that?
My wife taught her that.
That's Venus Williams. Remember that name.
Okay, that's a can of corn. That's a can of corn!
Game, Williams. Williams leads, five games to two.
First set.
See how she do that open stance? That's what we worked on.
Yeah.
That's right.
Looking good, Venus Williams.
- There you go. - Game. First set.
Venus Williams.
That's it, kid! That's it!
There you go. That's all that hard work, right there.
Game, Williams.
She leads the set 3-1.
She's scared of you. She's scared of you, Venus.
Just stay loose, junior.
She's gone to the toilet.
Okay.
We're right here with you, Venus.
- Stay in your game. - Let it go. Stay right there.
- You got it, v. - We love you.
Don't let it get in your head, junior.
- She's trying to freeze her. - Mm-hm.
- Oh, come on. - What's... what's happening?
She's icing her.
- They don't have a rule for how long... - There's nothing we can do.
They can't... there's...
She can just say she's using the toilet. It's a dirty, old trick.
That's eight minutes already.
That's eight minutes.
That's nine minutes.
You got her on the ropes!
- Let's go! - This is ridiculous!
Why won't she stand up?
Stand up, junior.
That's all right, just stay in it, v.
Hey, v, your game. Your game, Venus. Let's go.
- Time. - That's right. Let's go.
Yes! Feel your game!
- Out! - Love-15.
- You got the next one, Venus. - Hey, find it.
You got the next one, Venus.
- Let. - Fault.
Let it go. Let's go. Next one.
Come on, Venus Williams.
Game, vicario. Three games all.
15-40.
Come on, v. You got the next one.
Okay, junior.
Game, vicario.
Game. Second set, vicario, six-three. One set all.
Oh, my god.
Five-love. Final set.
Love-40.
It's all right, Venus.
Game, set, and match. Vicario, two sets to one.
Two-six, six-three, six-love.
Good job, Venus.
She did good out there. She did great. She did great.
Hey, v. Mmm...
Mm-hm.
I should have won tonight.
Now all our deals, no respect...
Uh-uh. No. No, no, no.
- Don't do that. - Mm-mm.
You were counting on me.
Okay, okay, you listen to me.
Look here.
You just went toe-to-toe, for two hours...
With the number one player in the whole world.
Had her shook.
- Had her knees shaking. - Yes. Yes.
And you did it with grace.
If you don't have no respect for yourself right now,
you will never have none.
You are a champion, Venus Williams.
And the whole world know it.
You gonna walk out there with your head up.
I have never been more proud of a person in my whole life.
Come on, your sisters outside waiting for you. It's cold.
Daddy, I'll take my bag.
- No, I'll carry it, junior. - I got it.
Hey, champion.
There she go.
We're proud of you.
You did it, v.
We're proud of you. You did good.
This is the exit. I can let you all out here.
Thank you, sir. Y'all go ahead.
Richard.
Venus! Venus! Venus!
They look like they know.
Go on. Don't keep 'em waiting. Go ahead. Go ahead.
That's your fans. Go ahead.
-Come on, Serena. —okay!
- You next! - Venus! Venus! Venus!
Richard. Richard. How about that, huh?
Hey, Nike's back on the line.
I mean, they're coming out of the woodwork.
Puma. Fila. Reebok. They all wanna meet. They all wanna meet first.
I'm gonna tell 'em they can kiss my backside.
No, I think we'll talk to the peoples. I think we gonna talk to them.
Hey, Richard, she did it.
Oh, yeah, she did it.
Venus! Venus! Venus!
Venus! Venus! Venus! Venus!
We had the kids' future planned before they were born,
and the first day that I took Venus and Serena to the tennis court,
I knew I had champions.
Sometimes I feel like it was just... Destiny.
For the both of them.
If you were a tennis player, who would you want to be like?
I'd like other people to be like me.
If she plays the way that she's capable of, this kid's gonna be great.
Venus and Serena Williams have made tennis history.
They're the first sisters and the firstafrican-Americans
ever to claim the top two spots in the world rankings.
People are so captivated by the story of sisters having to play each other.
This is how we've always dreamed it would be.
Young African-American kids... They're seeing a reflection of themselves.
No matter which one win, we still win.
Raise your hand, Serena. Venus.
My dad, he always thought it was important for me
to give back to the community.
Being number one is great,
but fighting for the generation to come is even better.
I'll never forget my dad said,
"this is the moment we've been working for all our lives.
Stay focused and don't be afraid."
Open the stance. That's... there you go.
They will remember Venus and Serena. They will say,
"boy, they did it. I can do it."
We'll win. And we'll share our victory with every person in the world.