King Richard (2021) - full transcript

A look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams.

I'll take that. Thank you.

Where I 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, I 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 wrist 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, uh, 1977, I had

watched this tennis match

and I seen them get this girl,

uh, 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.

-Cover their whole tennis...

-Step in a little bit more.

-...cover their education,

foreign languages, everything.

-And now that plan say...

-All right, short 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.

Okay, you making a mistake,

but I'mma let you make it.

- All right.

- Okay.

-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,

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!

Oh.

Phone book.

Phone book.

Phone book.

Phone book.

- Phone book.

- Girls.

- Hey.

- Told ya I'd win.

-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.

Okay.

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 again?

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.

I think you riling me up with

them little nurse shoes on.

I love them nurse shoes.

Get these girls to practice.

-All right. Have a good day.

-You, too.

Keep turning those hips

if you wanna get that power.

- Okay.

- 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.

Hey, who ready to work?

Who ready to work?

- Say again?

- We're ready, Daddy.

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.

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 here though.

Oh! Almost, Venus Williams!

Forehand.

Yes, you keep that stance open

or else I'mma come down there

and tickle you.

Very good. Very good.

Get to it.

Get to it. Get to it.

There you go. There you go.

Wait for that ball.

Go get it. 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...

-Mm?

...who is your best friend?

You, Daddy.

Serena Williams,

who is your best friend?

Venus. Then you.

-Then you. After Venus.

-That's unbelievable.

-That is unbelievable.

-It's okay.

-Give your daddy a kiss.

Thank you. All right.

Why don't y'all go ahead, uh,

and 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 trying to talk to you,

that's all.

Tunde!

Pick your things up,

get your sisters,

go ahead to the bus.

You Tunde?

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's studying.

Where she going?

Don't drop

your backpack, baby.

Keep talking all that shit.

Oh, Tunde!

Tunde, the homie's

still right here.

I be tellin' this love

right here...

You gotta stop acting

like a...

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.

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.

Why you beating up

my homeboy, man?

Came over here

with that stupid shit.

Punk-ass niggas,

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, Mom.

Hey, Mommy.

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...

Stop! What's so funny?

The song is a great song.

-Move, move, move.

-Yes, ma'am. 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.

-Gimme 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.

-Mm-hmm.

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.

Look, 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 that...

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.

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 really is.

She ready for that next level.

-She ready.

-You got to trust me, okay?

-All right.

-I'mma 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.

I got to get to work.

-That's what I wanna hear.

-Mm-hmm.

We're gonna

shake up this world.

-A basketball.

-Dancing together. A hole...

-Ballet.

-Oh, a ring. A ring.

A basketball hoop.

Ten o'clock, girls.

Time for bed.

What was it?

Saturn.

All right.

Y'all wrote in your journals?

Made your plans for tomorrow?

- Yes, Daddy.

- That's right.

Got to have a plan

for every day, else what?

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.

You know,

one day not too long from now,

somebody gonna hand you girls

a check for $1 million.

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, uh, 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 film 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.

This deal you're asking for,

you know,

all of this for free, Richard,

nobody's taking that bet.

Tennis is a technical game,

you know,

probably one of the most.

And... 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.

-Yep. Yep.

-I, uh...

-Maybe you can prove me wrong.

-Okay.

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 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?

- Mm-hmm.

Hey, where Tunde at,

homie?

Roc,

what you doin', man?

Come on.

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, oh, oh!

Get his ass! Get his ass!

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.

They got Roc!

Roc!

Hey, call an ambulance, nigga!

Call an ambulance!

Roc!

Come on, Roc,

wake up! Talk to me!

Get up, man.

Come on, let's go!

Give me this. Give me this.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

How many fingers

am I holding up?

How you get all nine fingers

on one hand?

You fine.

Gonna take a shower.

Where are we practicing

today, Daddy?

Yeah, where are we

practicing today?

Oh, we going

someplace 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.

-Mm-hmm.

- -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.

- That's the one.

- 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 mom used to say,

"Son, the most strongest,

the most powerful,

the most dangerous creature

on this whole Earth

is a woman

who knows 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.

Lemme see

your dangerous face.

That's your dangerous face?

There you are. There you go.

That's your dangerous face.

Okay, don't do that

for the peoples.

-Don't do that.

-Don't do that.

-Hey.

-That's a nice shirt.

Top o' the morning to ya.

Look at that.

Look at that. Come on.

Do you see who that is?

- Yes.

- Who's that?

-John McEnroe?

-That's right. Who that?

- That's Pete Sampras.

- Mm-hmm.

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.

- Oh, screw you.

- Screw me?

Okay, 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 one.

No, no, no. I got it.

What can I do for ya?

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. Williams.

We're in the middle

of practice here.

This my daughter,

this is 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.

Yeah, I'm sorry,

I'm not taking any juniors

right now,

and we're in the middle

-of a very serious practice.

-Well, I don't mean

to interrupt nothing.

Uh, Mac, Pete.

Oh, tough break at Wimbledon.

I see what happened

to you, Mac.

Uh, you...

You gonna win again.

Just keep your head up.

Mr. Williams,

-this is not a good time.

-Wait. Listen. Look...

All right?

-We're in the middle of...

-I just want you to

watch them hit a few.

Look, Mac is gone.

Mac is gone.

The way Pete

whipping up on him,

he may never come back.

Look, 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.

- Come on, girls.

Show him this magic.

Show him this magic.

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.

Oh, yeah,

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.

So, Serena, why don't

you go get some water?

I wanna hit with your sister

for a minute.

Venus, you wanna 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.

Yeah, 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.

Lemme ask

you both something.

What do you want out of this?

I know what your dad wants,

but what about you?

Well, I wanna 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?

- Mm-hmm.

Sure as hell.

So he's gonna do it for free?

Um...

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?

I know.

And then, we only

hit the net, like, twice.

Do you want to?

Oh, Richard.

We got

a coach. We got a coach.

We got a coach.

We got a coach.

We got a coach.

It's not fair.

I wanna 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.

Come on, Junior, let's go.

I know you feel left out.

But you're not left out.

You got something great, too.

-What?

-Me!

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. Centre. 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're gonna learn to think

about this tennis court

as a chessboard

made up of 228 shots.

You will learn

to perfect them all.

Did I say stop?

Go, go, go. Again.

Centre.

Come on! Up, up, up!

Explode! Side!

Up, up, up! Back!

Side, side, side. I need

you to be faster, Serena.

24...

25... Oh, halfway there.

Come on.

26...

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.

Lemme 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.

I'm trying

to record though, Paul.

You can

interview me later.

- Yes!

- There you go.

Yes! 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, stay low, stay low.

Yeah, baby! Yes!

Go!

You're on it. That's it.

End the point. Recover quick.

You gotta move faster.

Hold on, Junior, Junior.

Junior.

All right, 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 day long

to get back to the middle,

get back to the middle.

That's all I hear you saying.

Yet you instructing her

to close her stance.

That's right.

How's she supposed to 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's how she get back

to the middle.

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?

But just keep

your mind open, Paul.

You know,

just in case you not...

Richard, it would be

really helpful...

...the smartest person

in the whole world.

...if we could

actually hit a few.

-Okay, yeah, you can hit 'em.

-Because I got about

18 minutes left and I'd like

to finish this practice.

It just don't make no sense

what you saying, Paul.

If she keep her stance closed,

-feet are all jumbled up...

-I'll tell you what, Richard.

She's not gonna

be able to get back.

I'll get my lesson from

you when we're done, okay?

But right now,

I'd like to focus on Venus.

Okay, yeah, 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.

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...

Dang, that's Capriati?

Now,

she's a freaking killer.

Won the Junior Orange Bowl

in Miami

in the U.S. 18 and Under

when she was 12.

Just went pro last year.

That's her coach Rick Macci.

He's in Florida.

About as dumb

as the rest, but...

she is the youngest pro ever

to be ranked in the Top 10.

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 $2 million

contract with Diadora

before she played

a single pro match.

How do you think

that happened?

Juniors.

So, what do you guys say?

Wanna play Juniors?

I think I can add that

to the plan.

We 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 take a step there.

-Kick their butts.

-All right, y'all.

-Have fun. Bye.

-Thanks. 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 wanna see

your name in their draw. Okay?

Okay, Daddy.

You just go on out there

and you 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 our job.

Yeah, yeah.

-She'll be fine.

-Mm-hmm.

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.

You know,

just get someplace safe.

Don't move.

You are so freaking stupid.

- All right, Venus!

- Go, Venus!

All right, V.

-You watching? You watching?

-Mm-hmm.

You're so bad!

Damn!

Good 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.

Get in my picture.

Come on, come on.

Come on, Paul!

Say, "Venus!"

Venus!

That's it. That's it.

Bad sportsmanship.

Yeah!

Can I take a picture

with the winner?

Right here. Hold it.

-Oh, you look so good.

-So proud of you.

Let's go, Venus!

Kelly. Kelly. Kelly.

It was out. Call it.

It was out.

- What?

- No.

No, it wasn't.

-It wasn't out, though.

- -Can they do that?

- It's all right.

- They can't do that.

That's okay, Junior.

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!

All right. All right.

That's it.

It's all right.

- 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 missin' it.

No, I can hear everything

with that ball.

- Good play.

- Come on!

You got this.

Did you see any of that?

Yes, I saw some of that.

Come on, y'all, come on.

Whoo. Yay.

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.

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.

Thank you.

Cheese.

There you go.

There you go.

-Thank you so much. Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Nice meeting you.

-Nice to meet you.

You did real good.

You did real good.

Bye.

You should be very proud

of yourself. You did good.

Well done.

Mommy, wait.

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.

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 saying. Jeez.

Okay, you big shots.

Here's five bucks.

Go on and get me

something to drink.

-I wanna get something.

-Stop. Stop. Stop.

Uh, give the money to Tunde.

-Give the money to Tunde.

-Stop arguing. Stop arguing.

Why do they always take

the money from me?

Daddy gave it to me.

Not to 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.

-Richard, stop! Stop!

You can't leave them

back there like that.

Leaving 'em

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?

-But I don't wanna hear...

Why is it that

you gotta ruin...

-...nothing about no tennis.

-...everybody else's day?

You don't wanna be happy...

I don't

wanna hear no bragging.

...so you don't want

nobody else to be happy.

- This ain't about being happy.

- No...

- It's about bragging.

- ...it is about it.

You don't want

nobody else to be happy...

I told them

I don't want no bragging.

...so you gotta make

everybody else upset.

I have never in my life...

Never ever met

somebody who just

don't wanna be happy.

I don't want no bragging.

You go back and get my girls.

That's what you do.

They coming now.

They coming now.

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?

Ah, finally.

Okay.

Okay, what you learn?

Isha?

- To be polite.

- Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

-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.

-Why, Daddy?

No, '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-hmm. That's good.

Come on, Meek.

Remember your shoes?

Okay, that's good,

but everybody's wrong.

So we gonna watch

the film again.

We gonna watch

this whole 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...

- I answered your question.

- Okay, okay.

They answered your questions.

All right, 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.

-Ever.

-That's where you still at?

-That's where you still at?

-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 of the air.

Take it right out the air.

Right out of 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.

I see what y'all

are doing out there.

Don't sweat it, we good.

We got you.

Okay, go ahead, I got this.

Go ahead.

Y'all get in the car.

Daddy,

why are the police here?

I don't know.

Do 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,

and 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... You all need

to look around?

Go ahead, you can check on

in the cupboards.

Maybe you 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-L-I-Z-A-T-I-O-N.

- Okay, Mr. Williams...

- Wait, now hold on.

...this is

really not necessary.

Hold on.

You wanna check on the kids?

Let's check on the kids.

We got future doctors

and lawyers,

plus a couple of 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 our job,

to keep 'em off these streets.

You wanna arrest us

for that? Fine.

But what you not

gonna never do

is come knock on this door

talking about you have 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.

-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.

Um, Serena Williams.

10 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 years old..."

...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 Holliday,

who works for

a drain cleaning company,

taped the incident...

-Tunde?

-I'll get it.

The incident

followed a car chase

where police say the suspect,

who is Black,

was driving more

than 100 miles an hour.

At least they got them

on tape this time.

They also say

he was wanted

on suspicion

of parole violation...

Hello.

Samson Security Service.

...on a robbery conviction.

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.

-Hey, 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.

Oh, that the big boss.

That's the big boss

right there.

Yeah,

I can tell by the cigar.

-Sit down, guys.

-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...

It's really great.

We appreciate everybody

taking off their hoods

before we came in.

- Richard.

- We like that.

You know, I'm just kidding.

I'm just kidding.

It's, uh... We've been here

a couple of times.

Well, 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-hmm.

He discovered Capriati

when she was 10.

Mary Pierce, too.

And we believe that Venus

can be bigger than both.

I'm sorry, you, um...

You said two times already.

You said it's incredible.

-Yeah.

-And, uh,

why is what we did

so incredible?

Well, 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. Let's answer...

That's why we're here.

Why it's so incredible

what we did?

- Sir, I'm sorry.

- We're here to ask questions.

I certainly did not mean

to make any offence there,

Mr. Williams.

I'm very sorry. I just meant

with your background and...

Our background.

Now, of course,

what you mean is our race.

No, it's okay.

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, okay.

So, uh, what're 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 wanna risk all that,

do you, Richard?

I think I'mma go

get in the pool.

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-hmm.

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.

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, 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.

- Hiya.

- 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 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 63-0, okay?

You pull her out of Juniors

now, you're gonna ruin it.

Those girls need

to play matches

or they're gonna die

on the vine.

Yeah, 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 ladder.

Nationals and Internationals.

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?

Yeah. 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.

-And it will close.

-Yep.

I know you don't wanna

believe me, but it will.

Everybody talking

about this window,

this... this window

they got to get through.

But peoples like us,

we... 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

any more.

Richard, no good coach

is gonna take them for free

if they're

not playing Juniors.

Yeah, 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-hmm.

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 a...

We a family.

So we're a team?

We a family. The best kind

of team there is.

And you don't think that

that was a decision

that you should have

discussed with me?

Discussed with Venus?

-What do you...

-Richard,

my faith dictates

that I stand by your side.

All right,

well, just do that then.

But don't mistake my silence

for agreement.

You do that again,

and I won't be quiet.

Now, don't do that.

Don't do that to me.

You don't make a fool

outta me.

-Who made a fool outta you?

-You made a fool outta me.

-What are you talking about?

-Don't make a fool out of me.

Ain't nobody making

no fool outta you.

Good feet. Excellent.

Get there. Work!

Excellent.

I like it. I like it.

Hey, who's aggressive?

Who wants this point?

Hey! 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 go, guys.

You guys are late. 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 position.

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 wanna get on

over to the club?

Let's get it started.

Let's get it.

Come on, girls, let's go.

Mr. Macci a busy man.

-All right.

-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!

Good. There you go, Meka.

Take that. And that.

Close her down, Richard?

Uh, yeah,

you can just close it up.

Hey, hey, hey!

Slow down, haircut.

Hell you think you going?

Oh. 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.

- It's spoke.

Amen.

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 might just 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 mostly, it's...

It's my personal time.

Now, that I promise

you will get.

You train at Rick Macci,

hey, you're...

you're gonna train with Rick.

Sounds expensive.

What's in it for you?

My fee is 15%

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, uh,

tennis coach.

Sure.

The boy keep calling here.

Can't get him off the phone.

Yeah, Nick is a...

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 get a factory.

Now, you train with me,

I'm your coach. It's me.

A lot of people say

Nick the best.

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah.

Remember that man

who said that?

- Mm-hmm.

- 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 wanna go with Nick,

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.

Whew!

- Hey, Tunde. Uh...

- Wow.

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.

Uh, we need a house,

we need the best school,

and, uh, a job for me

on your staff.

It says here, a...

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.

No, 'cause you always

take the longest.

Oh, thank you.

Y'all,

can you get me one?

Here you go.

No, we can share that.

- We can share now.

- Give me one.

No. 'Cause y'all

wouldn't let me sit with you.

Keep your hands...

You keep your hand

on that wheel.

She got it.

Do you need me, Junior?

- No, I got it.

- Put one hand,

at least one hand

on that wheel. Something.

What's up?

Hey, police.

- Hi, police!

- We were just

breaking the law. Sorry.

-Okay, spell "Albuquerque."

-Albuquerque.

A-L-B-U-Q...

- No.

- Yeah.

Can't be L-R.

- It started...

- A-L...

-The word got, like...

-A-L-B-U-Q...

...it got, like, three Q's.

No, don't tell 'em.

Let 'em do it.

Look at that.

We in Florida.

So pretty!

There you go.

Welcome to Florida.

Rick Macci,

here we come.

Rick Macci,

there we go.

There they are.

- Hi.

- Wow, look at that.

Hello, everybody.

Welcome to the Sunshine State.

Gosh, it's great

to see you guys.

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-hmm.

- 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.

- That gonna be mine.

- Now, girls,

these are the drilling courts.

That's Tommy Ho.

He won the U.S.

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's 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. 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 chum?

Yeah, you know,

you got a good eye, Richard.

-Mm-hmm.

-You know how that works.

You need a few cheeseburgers

to pay for the sirloin.

You sell enough sirloin,

you can get

to the filet 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?

- Yep.

- Yeah? Bang.

- Bang.

- Right? Bang.

Bang.

Now, look, I got

a little surprise for you.

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 Jennifer Capriati.

- Hey.

I hear you guys can play.

You wanna hit?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Can we?

- Oh, yeah.

You girls 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.

-Mm-hmm.

So, 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 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?

-Yeah.

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.

What are they gonna do,

Richard?

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 kids?

But, Richard, that's...

That is not how it works.

I... 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... 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.

That's one of the things.

That's the most important.

They got to hit

them open-stance strokes.

We gonna make it go "boom"

like you said.

-Remember?

-Right.

-Make it go boom.

-Yeah, I said "bang,"

-but, yeah.

-You said, "bang," "boom,"

we gonna make 'em

make some noise.

I got to get the family.

They need to see this.

I'mma grab a burger.

You want something?

Nah. 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. You know why?

-It was excellent.

-'Cause it was excellent.

Good. Hey, 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-hmm.

-You've been called

controversial, overbearing,

-a self-promoting distraction.

-Mm-hmm.

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.

-Mm-hmm.

-You've said "tennis parents

-"should be shot."

-Mm-hmm, yeah.

You 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, 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,

-so, I'mma get Venus.

-Thank you.

Uh, y'all can go ahead

and move and set up up top.

- Okay.

- 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. Keep 'em moving.

-Junior!

When you're moving,

I'm grooving.

-Good. Get there.

-Junior!

You got an interview.

Come on, let's go.

Come on.

Hey, V, we got two more hours.

Hey, look,

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 wanna 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.

But 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?

Eh, big Junior tournament's

coming up.

The Continental Cup.

Hoopla's for Kournikova.

She's getting

some practice in.

Again. Go take a break.

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, I wanna 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...

- Come on, Rick, please.

You're trying to feed me

to the wolves here.

I'm ready. You know I'm ready.

Look, I've been

down this road...

Rick, just talk to him.

Please.

Eh...

Please?

All right, all right,

all right, all right.

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!

All right,

all right, all right.

-Yes!

-Oh, boy. Here we go.

-Let's just...

-It'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,

then 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.

- Kids, where...

Rick own everything you see

as far as you can see.

True. Hey, Richard,

do you think I could, um,

bend your ear for a minute?

Oh, yeah, yeah,

sure thing.

Uh, girls, take the kids on

down to the court.

I'll meet you down there.

You can go on with them.

I'll talk to you in a second.

Okay. 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. Have fun, kids.

You got great teachers.

Yeah, come on, 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, uh...

There's a tournament

in Oakland coming up.

It's called

the Bank of the West.

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.

I don't like that, Rick.

You don't like what, Richard?

Wait a second.

Don't talk to peoples

behind my back like that.

I'm not talking

to anybody behind...

Don't do that.

You know I don't like that.

-Don't do that.

-Wait, wait, wait, Richard,

hang on a second. Will you

just hear me out, please?

Look, she's...

she's 14 years old.

Hingis just turned pro.

Kournikova, she's going soon.

I don't understand why we

would give them a head start.

Jennifer,

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...

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 you the truth.

-Peoples are saying

-that she burnt out.

-She's not burnt out.

Richard, Jennifer is fine,

but you know what?

So is Venus.

Come on, man.

Look, she's ready.

Hold your racket

like this.

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 up here

to talk to me?

-You're gonna beat me?

-I'm gonna hit it now.

Look,

it's not just my idea.

Rick, I don't say this

to you too often...

-Okay.

-...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.

Mm.

Uh, you can borrow

your cart if you want.

No, 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.

...far more than expected.

It doesn't look like

the tide will turn back

in the favor of drivers

in the near future...

-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.

Michael Williams

has that story from Miami.

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.

There go Rick.

- Hey, Richard.

- Hey, Rick.

- Okay, let's go.

- Come on.

Homework, 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, 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... I'm sorry,

like I did with what?

Well,

you was her coach, right?

-Mommy...

-It's all right.

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.

- Come on.

- 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 of Juniors.

Now you pull 'em

out of practice.

You do it constantly.

For... 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...

-Thank you.

-...that every other Junior

in America is doing.

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.

Nah, 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... 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 freaking 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?

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-hmm.

-I'm here. I've been here

dreaming and believing

just like you.

-Mm-hmm.

-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?

-Come on.

How you walk away

when something's not finished.

-Did you just see that?

-Come on. Come on.

You see that?

That's what you do...

That's what you do with...

with all your businesses.

Remember the cement

company business...

Mm-hmm.

...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 will 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. 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 just scared.

You 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.

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 accidently 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...

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 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 No. 1

and reigning

U.S. Open champion,

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario,

will face a tough draw

of challengers,

all hoping to take home

the $400,000 purse.

Among them,

14-year-old Venus Williams,

who takes the court in her

first-ever 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...

-There you go.

-...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 someplace 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?

- Okay. I got...

Guys, it's go time.

Look alive.

Come on. The man is here.

The man is here.

The Nike man here.

Y'all, close that. Close that.

This is it. This is it.

You guys are gonna go there.

- Yep. Go get in your position.

- Okay. You ready?

Get in your positions.

Okay. You ready?

Hey, Patrick, how you doing?

Very well.

Good to see you, Rick.

How's Terri

and the kids? They good?

-They're good, thank you.

-Yeah? That little Billy

- still playing baseball?

- That's right.

- Yeah, he's swingin' away.

- I like that.

- Hello.

- Richard Williams.

-Welcome.

-Hi. Patrick.

- Nice to meet you.

- This is Oracene.

-Hi, nice to meet you.

-That's my wife,

-that's Brandy.

-Nice to meet you.

-You know who that is.

-Honor to meet you. Honored.

That's who you brought

that briefcase for.

That's right. Yeah.

Well, you had a long trip...

- Mm-hmm.

- ...and a big day tomorrow,

so I am not gonna take up

too much of your time.

Mm-hmm.

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 $3 million.

-Whoo.

Signature shoe.

Signature line.

We wanna 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.

- It's great.

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 wanna help you

build it, starting today.

Uh...

-It's, uh...

-Yeah.

Um...

Yeah, maybe...

Maybe just have a minute.

You know,

just let the family...

-Absolutely.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-No problem, just for...

-Of course, of course.

But, uh, 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.

Yeah, we'll just

take a second.

There is a heck

of a seafood buffet.

Okay.

Now, it's

on the mezzanine level, right?

You don't wanna hit

one or two.

A lot of people

get that wrong.

Just fix your face

till the man get out the door.

What does he mean by that?

Let the man

get out the door first.

No, I wanna know

what he means though.

We gonna talk about it

when the man 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.

-Don't worry.

-But I wanna understand.

He's just trying to scare us.

He's just trying to scare us.

That's right.

He's trying to scare us,

and guess what? I'm scared.

I'm freaking terrified.

Guys, what...

What is going on?

$3 million.

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, 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 is it.

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 wanna 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 for the last...

Richard, stop it. Stop it.

Listen to me.

Listen to me.

All the hard work she done did

for the last 10 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.

- We don't know...

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?

No.

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.

It's a...

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.

-Hey. Whoa.

- Hi! How are you?

- Yeah.

Mister Rick is paying for us

to go to the seafood buffet.

- Ooh.

- Yeah. Yes, come on.

Hi.

You knew about this?

- Yes.

- Yeah! 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 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.

- All right.

That's all right.

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!

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 or jumpy.

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 though.

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...

a hired assassin.

I mean,

it's, like, unbelievable.

Richard,

I talked to Dougherty.

He's upping the offer.

$4 million, Richard.

$4 million.

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, Richard.

She's the best player

in the whole wide world.

She... 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!

Oh.

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.

One, two, three, four, five.

One, two, three,

four, five, six.

One, two, three,

four, five, six.

Now, whatever

happens tonight...

- Close, close.

- Next time, 10.

...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 she say? What 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?

-Um...

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 U.S. Open champion,

Arantxa Sanchez 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

in Oakland, California...

- 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 Sanchez 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.

-Impressive.

- Yep. Yep.

15-40.

Game, Williams.

Williams leads two-love.

Game, Williams.

Williams leads

three games to love.

- Ooh!

- 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.

-Whoa.

-There you go.

Game. First set.

Venus Williams.

-Come on, Venus!

-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.

¡Esto es una locura!

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 in your game.

- You stay right there.

-Stay in your game.

-You got it, V.

We love you.

Don't let it

get in your head, Junior.

Oh, come on.

What's... What's happening?

She's icing her.

-They don't have a rule...

-There's nothing we can do.

...for how long

you can stay in the...

They can't... There's...

She can just say she's

in there 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.

- Let's go, Venus.

- Hey, V, your game.

Your game, Venus. Let's go.

- Time.

- That's right. Let's go.

Yeah! Feel your game!

- Out.

- Love-15.

-You got the next one, Venus.

-Hey, fight it.

You got the next one, Venus.

- Let!

- Fault.

Let it go. Let's go.

Next one.

Yes!

Come on, Venus Williams.

¡Esta si!

Game, Vicario.

Three games all.

15-40.

Okay, Junior.

Game, Vicario.

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.

Okay.

I should have won tonight.

Now all our deals,

no respects...

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.

At all.

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.

You're the second of

all the players in the world.

This is the exit.

I can let you all out here.

Thank you, sir.

Y'all go ahead.

Richard.

Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! Venus!

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, come.

-Okay!

You next!

Venus! Venus! Venus!

Richard. Richard.

How about that, huh?

Hey, Nike's back on the line.

I mean, they're... They're

coming out of the woodwork.

Puma. Fila. Reebok.

They all wanna meet.

They all wanna meet first.

I'mma 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!

Venus! Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! Venus! Venus!

Venus! 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 'em.

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 first

African 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.