Venus and Serena Williams Are Not the Most Talented but It’s Their American Rival, Claims Childhood Coach.

Serena Williams and Venus Williams share 30 Grand Slam trophies between them. They have dominated the tennis court as world no.1, individually, in their careers.

However, their childhood coach and a legendary Hall of Famer believes there was someone way more talented than the Williams sisters, especially when they were kids. Taken aback? All of us are!

In a post shared on X, dated November 27, Rick Macci, claimed that he once trained a female player who was a prodigy at a young age of 12, in the early 1990s. Who was she?

None other than Jennifer Capriati. Although the 69-year-old also coached Serena and Venus back then, he thinks they were not on the level of Jennifer Capriati – the former world no.1 and ex- American WTA pro.

 “Was asked who was the best player at 12 years old I coached? Venus Serena Sharapova Kenin or Capriati. Believe it or not it is not even close as the JENERATOR JENNIFER CAPRIATI at age 12/ 5 .4 /107 LBS was Number One in the U.S but in the Girls 18 and Under. WHOA. @JenCapriati”, wrote Macci.

For the unversed, Jennifer Capriati is a three-time Grand Slam champion. Her career began she was just 5-years-old and trained under Chris Evert’s father Jim Evert. When she turned 10, Jennifer went to Rick Macci’s academy.

Aged 12, she won the US Hard and Clay Court 18-and-under singles titles in 1989. In the same year, she even clinched the the French and US Open junior singles titles. Not to mention the US Open and Wimbledon junior doubles titles.

In 1990, she became the youngest player in history to reach a tour final at the Virginia Slims Tournament in Boca Raton, Florida. Capriati earned a name for herself in the 1990s and early 2000s, winning the Wimbledon, the French Open, and the Australian Open.

Plus, she’s also got an Olympics Gold medal to her credit. She won it during 1992’s Barcelona edition, in Spain.

Was asked who was the best player at 12 years old I coached? Venus Serena Sharapova Kenin or Capriati. Believe it or not it is not even close as the JENERATOR JENNIFER CAPRIATI at age 12/ 5 .4 /107 LBS was Number One in the U.S but in the Girls 18 and Under. WHOA. @JenCapriati

— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) November 27, 2024

Speaking about her head-to-head rivalry against the Williams sisters, Capriati faced Serena Williams 17 times.

Out of which, Serena won in 10. In the final meeting, however, Capriati emerged victorious. Playing against Williams in the 2004 US Open QF, she beat her after trailing in the first set with a scoreline of 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. However, against Venus, Capriati couldn’t take a single win in four times she faced her.

Coming back to Rick’s admiration for Jennifer, he has praised her on previous occasions too. On one instance, he called her one of his favorites!

When Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rick Macci expressed honest thoughts on Jennifer Capriati, the student

Although he has coached Serena and Venus, alongside the likes of Maria Sharapova and Sofia Kenin, Rick’s favorite is Jennifer Capriati.

And there’s a simple reason for that. Back in 2021, in an exclusive YouTube video on his channel, dated November 23, the Hall of Famer named Capriati as one of his favorite students.

“Jennifer Capriati is one of my favorite students of all time. She came to me as a ten-year-old and right away I knew that she could be one of the best players in the world,” he said. Giving the reason, he added, “She had amazing balance and good fundamentals.”

He also admired her strengths at a time when she was struggling due to injuries back in the early 2000s. After making a comeback in 2001, she went on to clinch the French Open and the Australian Open.

“To become No.1 in the world, to become a Top-10 player aged 14 and then come back after a hiccup to win two Grand Slams. Forget the mental fortitude. She had firepower,” he said, “She had all the weapons to go right back in the field and play through anybody. All that started when she was 10-years-old,” he concluded.

What do you have to say about Rick’s remarks on Jennifer? Do you also believe she was more talented than Serena? Let us know in the comments below?