By Caroline Cheese
BBC Sport at Wimbledon |
Asked on Tuesday if tennis remained a priority for his daughters, Venus and Serena's father told BBC Sport: "Tennis will never be number one in our lives, never has been, never will be."
He added that the pair now considered tennis even less important than when they first started out because "they understand there's a lot more to life".
That was never more evident than in Serena's humiliating defeat by Jill Craybas in the third round which means that for the first time since 2001 she will not feature in the Wimbledon final.
Serena admitted that because of injury she only practised for one week ahead of the tournament and conceded that perhaps she needed to work "more".
Richard put it in starker terms.
"Serena needs to get in condition - she's in the worst condition."
 |  They came out and had the world and now the world's caught them |
While fitness played its part in Serena's defeat, the mindset of other players has changed too.
Jim Courier told BBC Five Live: "Craybas said she had never felt she was in a match against Serena until she played her the other day.
"She actually felt like she had a shot. It's really hard to regain that fear once you lose it because they came out and had the world and now the world's caught them."
Three years ago, when the sisters destroyed the rest of the field before meeting in the final, many expected the pair to dominate the sport for years to come.
But since Serena lifted the Wimbledon trophy for a second time in 2003, the sisters have managed just one Grand Slam title between them.
More and more players are now rising to the challenge they set when they burst onto the scene.
| It seems like I see Serena on a red carpet every week |
Meanwhile, Serena has been accused of taking her eye off the ball as she attempts to get her acting career off the ground, while also investing time in her fashion design label Aneres.
Former player Annabel Croft even questioned Serena's decision to appear on Jonathon Ross' Friday night chat show, days before the tournament began.
But when they arrived on the scene, the Williams sisters were held up as role models principally because they did not dedicate every waking hour to tennis, and because their crossover appeal into entertainment brought new people to the game.
However, BBC analyst and former world number one Tracy Austin believes that in Serena's case, the balance has been lost.
"I live in Los Angeles and it seems like I see Serena on a red carpet every week, " she said.
| 2004 SERENA v 2002 SERENA 2----------Titles----------8 0-----Grand Slams------3 39-9---Win/Loss-----56-5 7--------Ranking---------1 |
"It's tough for Serena because she's a very gregarious person. She likes to go out, but I think she needs to cut that out a little."
But she added: "Maybe this will be a wake-up call. At the moment, she seems to want to get back to the top without putting the effort in.
"She said she doesn't like practice and only likes competing. You can't get away with that on the tour anymore. Everybody is so fit and so match tough.
"If she wants to get back, and she can, she will have to put a lot of hard work in."
Whether she is prepared to put that time in remains to be seen.
Their father has ensured that Venus and Serena will lead fulfilling lives with or without tennis.
The sport, however, would be infinitely poorer without them.
MMIX
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
