A special Moyens I/O with Serena and Venus Williams’ childhood coach, Rick Macci.
Question– Another actress you have a relationship with, Sofia Kenin. He won the Australian Open but now he’s gone. What happened to him?
I coached Sofia from the age of 5-12, and if you go back and look at all the videos – I said she was the scariest little creature I’ve ever coached. And people went there, saying it’s another great actress. I said at 20 he would be in the top 10 in the world – I was wrong. It was top 10 at 21 so I missed it by a year but yeah, mentally it was always there. She was in a bubble like Sharapova. What happened was – I think once she’s had all the success, she’s got other interests, be it her boyfriend or her dad’s meddling.
It has lost some of its competitiveness due to other interests. Then he got hurt and now it will take some time to get everything back. But you don’t lose his talent, you don’t lose his talent, he probably just lost his confidence. I guess other things got him astray but now he’s on his way back and no one can wish him more success. ‘Cause I know you’re in it It will take some time to get it back and as we both know, confidence is a huge thing, not just in sports but in life as well. Little things can trigger it and little things can make you fear it and lose all your confidence. You also have social media – all the interviews are negative but I hope it returns. He strayed from other interests but I hope he returns.
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Rick Macci takes on the Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova rivalry
Question– Apart from Serena, you also had a relationship with Maria Sharapova. And judging by their rivalry – maybe it was disproportionate, but they had an incredible rivalry. What do you think is the biggest matchup in women’s tennis?
I think because the media and other people have made it pretty clear – we don’t like each other. And whenever people don’t like each other – someone gets more money, someone gets more approval, it’s kind of like a catfight. As time went on, Serena knew she had to be aggressive. In it she wrote, ‘Before he punches me, I must punch him and take advantage of his mobility’. Maria was a great striker but not great defensively and when Serena realized that, she kind of dominated after the early start.
At the end of the day, early ‘We don’t like each other’ because they are too outspoken, this creates great rivalry but at the end of the day, rivalry is something that goes back and forth and is close. on the wire, not just when someone keeps beating you. But yeah, when Serena finds out that I have to play aggressively because if I don’t, it’s going to be the same thing that happened at Wimbledon. [2004]. It was a big rivalry, but Serena got it pretty quickly and like a lot of people, like I said before, she never looked back when I played Serena Williams, so she’s at Mount Rushmore because she just rushes you more and she really did. Sharapova is in such a hurry.
About Maria, when I gave birth to her at age 11, I told her father that, despite her limitations, she could be number 1 in the world because she was in a bubble. Mentally, he had she. I saw this in Kenin. I didn’t see it in Serena because it had to be planted but once you get that mental box in check, it’s a great start. Maria was in a bubble and had the same ritual when you look at how she played. She was like Nadal in this respect—she was just so locked in. She knew she wasn’t going to beat the athletes and blow people up with her defensive skills or her volleyball skills, she ticked a few boxes, but she checked them out like anyone who plays women’s tennis.
Rick Macci on whether Serena Williams could be a good coach
Question– Serena was not happy after losing the 2004 Wimbledon final to a junior, Sharapova. She’s had her fair share of controversies over the years. Maybe it’s because of Compton’s brutal aggression, and he’s shown some interest in coaching recently. Do you think Serena could be a good coach?
I’m sure he has some wise words, but at the end of the day, you must have patience and a lot of patience. I’m bulletproof. Listen, I’ve endured Capriati, Richard Williams, Jim, and the outer space fathers of tennis players. It’s important to understand that you have to be bulletproof and have a lot of patience with this sort of thing. I think there are a lot of words of wisdom where he came from but he’s very perfectionist, who knows, he’ll have that understanding with an actor. But when he speaks, people definitely listen.
He can do whatever he wants, but I don’t think being a coach will be his high priority. But in the end, just from a competitive standpoint, anything he wanted to say to be a better competitor would be worth its weight in gold for any player to me.
Technically this is something completely different. You should almost have a PhD. under the technical part in biomechanics. Many people travel on tour and are great game managers. His wise words on how to compete and how it feels to be under pressure and how to handle the media, I think he’s going to be a magician.
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