Legendary tennis coach Rick Macci has predicted a bright future for Saniyya Sidney, who played the role of Venus Williams in King Richard.
King Richard is a biopic that reflects on the tennis beginnings of Serena and Venus Williams and their path to becoming all-time greats.
Macci, one of the first coaches to work with the Williams sisters, recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel.
While Sydney was holding a racket, Macci explained the special talent she is.
“Little Venus has great feet, but most of all she is genuine and sweet. Her career has come very far. I think, in the future she will become a superstar,” Macci said, per Sportskeeda.
“She has two lungs and she has an amazing kidney. I’m just telling you this kid is going to be great. Watch out for Saniyya Sidney.”
The Venus Williams – Arantxa Sanchez Vicario match in King Richard
In one scene of the film, a 14-year-old Williams was taking on Sanchez Vicario at the Bank of the West Classic.
In the scene, Williams had a 6-2 3-1 lead before Sanchez Vicario took a bathrom break.
After stopping the match, Sanchez Vicario ended up creating a comeback.
Sanchez Vicario wasn’t happy with how she was potrayed in King Richard.
“The moment they painted me as a very bad person was when I am losing 2-6 and 1-3 is totally incorrect. I was in the lead, as far as I know,” Sanchez Vicario was quoted as saying by Marca. “It is impossible that I would have left the court with 1-3 because you can never leave in even games, if anything I would have left in 2-3. The bathroom break is limited. I would have been penalized if I had stayed longer. The thing is, that gives the importance to the film. There is no other way for the film to be relevant.
“I have had a brilliant career, nobody gave me anything to achieve what I got and I don’t understand the meaning of them taking that out. I recommend it because it’s an epic movie and it talks about effort. ”