Serena Williams

After the Williams sisters left Macci's tennis academy in 1995, their father, with the help of his wife, once again took over the responsibility of coaching the girls. Even more importantly, he devoted a great deal of his time and energy to promoting his daughters, publishing a newsletter about the girls' background and training. He also used the newsletter to blow his own horn, claiming that he had come to be known as "'King Richard' … Master and Lord of the ghettos in Compton, CA." Of Williams' blatant self-promotion, Julia Reed wrote in Vogue that he "has a reputation for being a bit pompous and not just a little bit irritating. But he is also wickedly funny."

Serena turned professional in October 1995, making her debut at the Bell Challenge in Vanier, Quebec, an event not sanctioned by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). She lost quickly to her opponent, a virtual unknown. For the next few years, she lived in the shadow of Venus, who shot up into the top 10 in women's tennis, while Serena as of the end of 1996 had been unable to break into the top 500. In 1997, however, things began to look up for the youngest Williams, who began the year ranked at number 453 and before long rose to number 307. Later in the year she jumped to number 100 among women players in the space of a single week. At the Ameritech Cup tournament in Chicago late in 1997, she upset number four Monica Seles and number seven Mary Pierce before losing to third-ranked Lindsay Davenport. Williams' wins over Seles and Pierce made her the lowest ranked player ever to defeat two top-ten players in a single tournament. An injury forced Serena to pull out of the doubles competition with sister Venus.