By Adrianna Outlaw | Sunday, November 13, 2016
"We definitely want to honor our sister's memory because she was a great sister, she was our oldest sister, and obviously she meant a lot to us," Serena Williams said.
Photo credit: Just Jared
The public courts of Compton were a launching pad for the Williams sisters success.
Venus and Serena returned to their Compton roots yesterday to honor their late sister and help launch the dreams of young players from their hometown.
Watch: New Film Explores Journeys to No. 1
The Williams sisters launched the Yetunde Price Resource Center at the 2016 Healthy Compton Community Festival yesterday. The new center aims to help victims of gun violence in their hometown of Compton, California.
Yetunde Price, the oldest of the Williams sisters, was murdered in a 2003 drive-by shooting not far from where Venus and Serena learned to play tennis on the public courts of Compton.
Serena Williams said the desire to honor their sister and support local children are the inspiration for the project.
"We definitely want to honor our sister's memory because she was a great sister, she was our oldest sister, and obviously she meant a lot to us," Serena told Helene Elliot of the Los Angeles Times. "And it meant a lot to us, to myself and to Venus and to my other sisters as well, Isha and Lyndrea, that we've been wantint to do something for years in memory of her, especially the way it happened, a violent crime.
"Basically, how does the family react? If her kids didn't have mom and us, it could be really devastating. But we had such a great system that they're doing pretty good. We just felt like people that didn't have that opportunity to fall back on, what could they do? And that's kind of how this resource center came about."
Stepping back on the tennis courts where father Richard Williams fed balls to his daughters from a shopping cart brought back memories for Venus and Serena, who were cheered by fans and residents in their return.
A walk down the block was a trip back in time to where the journey began.
"It's so great to be home. We literally lived right down the street so we could walk there," Venus Williams told the crowd at the dedication ceremony.
"It's done so much for us. It's been a surreal experience to be back in this way. And we'll be seeing you guys many more times at this center. We're going to do some special stuff here."
A grant from Gatorade, one of Serena's sponsors, helped refurbish the courts, which have been renamed the Venus and Serena Williams Court of Champions in honor of the sisters.
Here's a look back at the Gatorade ad that references the family's Compton roots highlighting Serena's rise from public parks player to 22-time Grand Slam champion.
"We're really appreciative to have this opportunity," Serena said. "And to have it in Compton, I think, brings everything full circle. We started here and we want to make sure people understand this is a great place to be."