"Told me I should be in Hall of Fame just by putting up with him" - Serena Williams' ex-coach on her father Richard's comic take on their partnership

Rick Macci has recalled Richard Williams joking that the former should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame just for 'putting up with him'. The 69-year-old has coached both Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

Macci is renowned in the tennis world for his exceptional coaching career, marked by a plethora of achievements. A United States Professional Tennis Academy (USPTA)-certified coach, he has also trained former World No. 1's Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova and Andy Roddick.

Richard Williams always told me I should be in the Hall of Fame just by putting up with him. This is one of the few things the Compton Comedian and I totally agreed on.

Macci recently revealed Richard Williams' comic take from the past - he could be in the Hall of Fame if he tolerated the now-82-year-old father of the Williams sisters. Macci highlighted the witty demeanor of the tennis stars' father on X:

Macci was the first coach chosen by Richard Williams for the sisters. He coached the duo from 1991 to 1995, with their family moving from California to Florida to be near his academy.

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Rick Macci hails Venus as Serena Williams' toughest competitor

The Williams sisters are unquestionably one of the most dominant pairs in the history of tennis. Collectively, they have earned a total of 30 Grand Slam titles in singles competitions and have also amassed 14 major titles in doubles.

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In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda a few weeks ago, Macci revealed that nobody challenged Serena Williams in her career as closely as Venus.

"I love VW [Venus Williams]," Macci said. "Both her and Serena [Williams] were like my own daughters. Serena is definitely the GOAT, but we gotta remember, in 31 matches, Serena won 19 and Venus won 12. No one has beaten the greatest player of all time more than Venus Williams. 100% if there was no Serena, who knows Venus could be sitting there with 15-20 Grand Slams."

Macci later highlighted the quickness and agility of the older sister and maintained that Venus Williams changed the landscape of women's tennis.

"People kind of forget, because she is still playing, how good Venus was. Unbelievable. In my opinion, she changed the whole landscape of women's tennis. She brought (a) quicker, stronger, faster, more agile, mobile athlete in tennis. Now you see that it's pretty common. But 100%, she would have won so many more Grand Slams, but you can't look in the rearview mirror."

Interestingly, the 69-year-old didn't think Serena was a great player in her childhood. After Macci, Richard Williams took full responsibility for training his two daughters in 1995.