‘King Richard’: Did Young Venus and Serena Williams Really Meet Pete Sampras and John McEnroe?

King Richard, the movie on the lives of Serena Williams and Venus Williams, has made its way to the silver screen. The Will Smith starring biopic has garnered remarkable responses from the audience. The movie also depicts the first meeting between the young Williams sisters with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe.

Their coach, Paul Cohen, told the Williams sisters to hit some strokes in front of Sampras and McEnroe.

Venus and Serena Williams’ first meeting with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe in ‘King Richard’

‘King Richard’, the biopic, is creating quite a buzz across the United States. The movie also depicts the first meeting of the young Williams sisters with legendary John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.

According to the movie, Richard Williams request Pete Sampras’ coach, Paul Cohen, to train the young girls. After several attempts, Cohen decided to take a trial of the girls. At that time, Sampras and McEnroe were training at the court, Cohen told the girls to hit some shots in front of the legends.

372178 06: FILE PHOTO: Richard Williams, center, with his daughters Venus, left, and Serena 1991 in Compton, CA. Serena and Venus Williams will be playing against each other for the first time July 6, 2000 in the tennis semifinals at Wimbledon. (Photo by Paul Harris/Online USA)

Paul Cohen as well as Pete Sampras were extremely pleased with the kind of shots the Williams sisters delivered. However, then Paul told Richard that he’d be able to train just one player, and he picked Venus. Through Venus’ videos, Serena Williams‘ mother would supposed to train her afterwards. This was the kind of determination the Williams family had towards the sport.

The ‘actual’ meeting between Serene, Venus and McEnroe and Sampras

However, the actual first meeting between the young Williams sisters with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe is somewhat different. They had actually met a year later, from the incident described in the movie. Sampras and McEnroe, who had both been coached by Cohen, went to Brentwood and saw Venus Williams taking a drill with Cohen. Subsequently, the legends also hit some shots with Venus.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 31: Venus Williams of the United States celebrates victory in her match against Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands during day one of the WTA 500 Yarra Valley Classic at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)

However, later on, Venus Williams told the reporters that she could have beaten McEnroe if the bounce had gone her way. Have you seen ‘King Richard’ yet?

ALSO READ: Will Smith’s Net Worth Compared With Serena Williams and Venus Ahead of King Richard’s Release

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