‘King Richard’ Shows the Making of Legendary Sisters Venus and Serena Williams

Led by a beautifully woven script, I wish this intricate story would have been expounded upon in a limited series so I could have spent a few more hours unpacking the magic that was and is the story of Venus and Serena Williams. 

Full disclosure, my favorite Will Smith movie is Hitch. That’s the Will Smith I love, and I was not prepared for the Will Smith I encountered in King Richard. Ten minutes into the movie, I questioned whether I’d be able to sit through two hours of his bizarre attempt at a southern accent and what I deemed as extreme over-acting. But by minute 30, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had wholly morphed into the Williams patriarch. In his walk, intensity, and adoration for his family, I no longer saw Will Smith; I saw Richard Williams. And once I saw it, I could not unsee it.

If I had to explain the movie’s story in one sentence, it’s the story of two poor Black girls from Compton changing the very white and affluent sport of tennis forever and becoming the greatest of all time in the process. And the fact that it’s the absolute truth leaves you in tears most of the movie and cheering on the narrative like it’s the first time you’ve ever heard it. Led by a beautifully woven script, I wish this intricate story would have been expounded upon in a limited series so I could have spent a few more hours unpacking the magic that was and is the story of Venus and Serena Williams. 

The young actresses that carried the magical mantles of Venus and Serena never wavered from the enormous feat of portraying legends. Like what Will Smith accomplished in playing Richard, you don’t see Saniyya Sidney; you see Venus. With extreme tenderness, Saniyya exudes the kindness and class that Venus Williams is so famous for and captures the resilience and strength of the first African American woman to win Wimbledon. Throughout this movie, you should also know that she will be your compass, as the story focuses on Venus’s rise to fame and Serena’s rise in her shadow.

I’ve often wondered what these two pioneers were like as children—not how they became great athletes, but how they became great people. Thankfully, we see that unpacked in King Richard through their family’s tenacity and toughness. “I haven’t been no great daddy. But I never done nothing but try to protect you.” And protect them he did—from their desires to go pro early, from light-hearted bragging after a well-deserved win, and from acclaim too soon. 

If you are a super fan of Serena Williams and expecting a movie about her, you won’t get that. But don’t be dismayed. You will get a fourteen-year-old Demi Singleton painting a picture of Serena’s inspiring fight and grit that was cultivated in the safety and shade of her sister’s success and her father’s protection plan. This movie explains what many may not know. Venus helped shade Serena, and Serena helped shape Venus. There would be no one without the other, and Richard Williams knew that all too well. 

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