“If you’re late, you’ll never be great.”

Rick Macci, Serena Williams’ childhood coach, recently took fans down memory lane as he reflected on Richard Williams’ emphasis on punctuality in the early stages of Venus and Serena’s careers. Macci coached the Williams sisters in their formative years, helping to develop their skills alongside their father Richard.

On Saturday, in a post on his X account (formerly Twitter), Macci praised Richard for teaching Venus and Serena the importance of discipline and punctuality. He noted that both sisters always prepared ahead of time and rarely made mistakes on the court, which Richard credits for fostering these values.

“Richard was always practicing early. Always. We said if you’re late you’ll never be great. Both VEE and Meek not only prepared early on the pitch, but also very rarely scored late. Life lessons from the Compton Crusader,” wrote Rick Macci.

Venus and Serena Williams became two of the greatest tennis players of all time, winning 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them. Together they also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic doubles gold medals.

Rick Macci not only coached the Williams sisters, but also mentored other tennis greats in the early stages of their careers, including Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova and Jennifer Capriati, among others.

Serena Williams’ former trainer Rick Macci spoke to Venus Williams about Richard Williams’ unconventional training methods

On Monday, December 16, Rick Macci went to X to share an unconventional training method that Richard Williams used during Venus Williams’ early career.

He wrote that Richard would park his car at the yard with loud music playing. In one instance, Richard broke six beer bottles near the back fence to teach Venus a lesson. He instructed them to hit the ball as it rose and not to back away.

“Richard parked his ’57 Chevy at Court 7 with the music playing (Hood up), he loved the hood and once he broke six beer bottles on the back fence and said to Vee Hit on the Rise and Do Not Back Up my Cinderella ghetto or yours.” Mom is going to be very angry with me tonight.”

While Serena Williams is retiring in 2022, Venus remains active on the tour and is the only player with seven Grand Slam singles titles still in contention. Venus, now 44, struggled with significant injury problems last year; she played her last WTA match at the Indian Wells Open in March.