"Everyone did drugs... A dead body in the street almost every day" - When Serena Williams' father Richard revealed the abject poverty he grew up in

Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, once opened up about the challenges he faced as a child. Growing up without a father, his family struggled to make ends meet, with his mother earning just $30 a month. He also shared his experience of living in a ghetto.

The Williams sisters started playing tennis at the age of four, coached by their father, Richard. Richard had created a detailed 85-page training plan, driven by his dream of making them champions. His dedication led to Serena winning 23 Grand Slam titles and Venus securing seven.

To ensure the sisters received a tough training from the very beginning, Richard moved the family to Compton, California, from Long Beach in the early 1980s. Compton, known at the time for its tough socio-economic conditions and high crime rates, was an unconventional choice for nurturing tennis prodigies.

However, Richard had a deliberate plan: he believed that training in such an environment would make his daughters mentally tough and prepared for the challenges they would face in the competitive world of professional tennis.

During an interview with Macleans in 2009, Richard Williams talked about moving to Compton in detail, saying:

"I don’t know if I’d recommend it. It’s too big a long shot to stay alive. I didn’t have a father. My mother was the only provider we had. We were living on $30 a month. You learn to take a little and make it a lot."

"So I felt that going to Compton, they would learn the same thing. The problem with living in the ghetto was that on the street we lived on it seemed everyone did drugs. And there was [a dead body] in the middle of the street almost every day," he added.