Cheers for the Williams Sisters!

I was thinking about the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) who are set to play the 2009 Wimbledon finals tomorrow. It is truly amazing how these two players have dominated the women’s tennis for the last ten plus years. They had very humble beginnings, having brought up in the city of Compton, one of the poorest and high crime areas in Southern California. Both became celebrities in their teens, and were the breadwinners for the family at a very young age. This sounds very similar to the story of singer Michael Jackson, whose woes in later life are attributed to becoming world famous and having to support his family at an early age. Come to think of it, the Williams sisters had a tougher start than Michael Jackson (imagine two poor black girls showing up at a tennis tournament in a country club!). Yet they both are remarkably stable in their private lives. You do not hear them getting drunk at a night club, or tanking a match to party. Despite of having to play each other frequently in grand slam finals (seven times so far), they show no animosity or jealousy towards each other. Their parents deserve a lot of credit for this. Father Richard Williams, whom the news media dislikes, has been careful in shielding the girls from the trappings of being a celebrity, and has instilled in them the value of a good education (both the girls are successful entrepreneurs) Mother, Oracene Williams, accompanies them to every tournament, protecting them from the mischief’s one gets into due to loneliness and boredom.

In short, the theory that all the child stars would end tragically in later years, is pure nonsense. Much depends on how one is brought up by parents, and the values they have instilled in one. The Williams sisters are the best proof of that. Cheers!