"Serena Williams & Venus Williams never fought as kids, always holding hands" - Childhood coach Rick Macci offers glimpse into duo's relationship

Serena Williams and Venus Williams' childhood coach Rick Macci recently shared a glimpse into the relationship between the two tennis superstars. Venus and Serena began training with Macci at the ages of ten and nine respectively.

The Williams sisters relocated from Compton, California to West Palm Beach, Florida to work with Macci. In addition to coaching Venus and Serena, the 69-year-old has also worked with top players such as Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati, Sofia Kenin, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands among others.

While Serena Williams retired from professional tennis two years ago after playing her final match at the 2022 US Open, Venus is still continuing to compete. Together, the Williams sisters have captured 14 doubles Grand Slam titles and three doubles gold medals at the Olympics. They have both achieved the World No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles

Recently, Rick Macci took to social media and reminisced about the early days of coaching the Williams sisters and mentioned how Venus and Serena were inseparable on and off the court. He described them as "two peas in a pod," who used to hold hands and skip around the court.

He noted that over the years, the sisters transformed into formidable opponents, calling them "pea shooters," who would smile as they took down their opponents on the court.

"They never fought as kids. Two peas in a pod. Always skipping holding hands smiling playing with dolls and stealing her food. On court always fought. Two pea shooters. Still smiling playing against the enemy but stealing points instead of food. @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams," Macci posted on X (formerly Twitter).

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Serena Williams & Venus Williams won their last doubles Grand Slam at Wimbledon Championships in 2016

Serena Williams (L) & Venus Williams (R) at Wimbledon [Image Source: Getty Images]

Serena and Venus Williams, who won 14 doubles Grand Slams together, secured their last doubles major at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.

The Williams sisters entered the event without being seeded. They began their campaign by defeating the 11th seeds Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik with a score of 7-5, 6-3.

They then overcame qualifiers Elise Mertens and An-Sophie Mestach 6-4, 6-4, followed by the sixth-seeded duo of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6-4, 6-3.

In the quarterfinals, the Williams sisters triumphed over the fourth-seeded pair of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-2. They then registered a 7-6(3), 6-4 win over the eighth-seeded duo of Julia Gorges and Karolina Pliskova.

In the final, Serena and Venus Williams defeated Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova 6–3, 6–4 to win the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, their sixth Wimbledon doubles title and their 14th and final Grand Slam doubles title.

Interestingly, Serena Williams went on to win her last singles Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open by defeating Venus Williams. Conversely, Venus claimed her last Grand Slam singles title to date at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships by overcoming Serena in the final.