♪♪ -Serena's last dance is at an end.

-New York, end of summer.

Serena Williams has just played the last match of her career.

-The greatest of all time now knows that her time is finally up here in New York.

-The American player would've loved to have gone further into the Grand Slam Tournament, but she had to bow out in round three.

-That dramatic arc, that tension, the possibility that she actually could've done something, you know, unbelievable was so, like, who could miss that?

Why would you?

-We couldn't help all but be caught up in this moment.

It felt like we were coming to a close, like this moment was ending for us, as well.

-A different era was coming to an end, particularly in women's tennis.

-It's been a fun ride, and um... [ Cheers and applause ] I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you, Venus.

[ Cheers and applause ] She's the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.

-They are fascinating sisters, Serena and Venus Williams, two siblings, two women who together have left their mark on the history of their sport.

From the moment they set foot on court all the way to the top of the podium.

-The sensational Williams sisters have taken the tennis world by storm.

-They just took over women's tennis.

Bang!

Bang!

-They showed the world that you could come from, not a country club, from not a privileged background, and you know, dominate this game.

-Ladies!

-Two women who broke into American pop culture uninvited.

-Nice serve.

-♪ Now I'm the one that's lying, and I don't feel bad about it ♪ -You gonna win for us?

-Mm-hmm.

-Good girl.

That's all I'm missing.

-The two young girls brought up on the streets of Compton hypnotized the cameras as they reworked the American dream.

-They've come from nothing to something.

And that itself is supposed to be the arc of the American Dream.

-They are the quintessential American story.

That rags to riches, that "you can be all you can be."

That's what they sell you.

-But those obstacles that you will face will also be America.

Discrimination, bigotry, fear, hatred.

-They grew up in the ghetto and ended up in Hollywood.

-Venus and Serena are gonna shake up this world.

-But the screenplay of the Williams sisters is a success story unlike any other.

Venus and Serena not only defied convention, they forced the US to acknowledge its traditional outcasts as its own children.

-That's how we beat the game.

That's it.

On Venus right here.

Now, you're gonna see something on Serena here.

-The origins of the Venus and Serena story lie in the ego of their sorcerer's apprentice father... -Now you see old handsome me.

-...who led his family towards a dream as crazy as it was unreasonable.

♪♪ -I didn't know anything about tennis.

I'm not even sure if I'd ever seen a tennis ball.

Before they were born, I had seen a tennis match on TV, and Virginia Ruzici was the recipient of $40,000 for a tennis tournament for four days.

So, I went to their mom and said, "I want to have two kids and they're going to be professional tennis players."

-What's fascinating about Richard, he was like a serial entrepreneur.

His daughters were his daughters, but they were also his clients, and his pupils, and his best product.

-You have Serena serving to the ad out corner, and Venus is serving to the deuce corner.

-He made it his job to expose and promote these two golden geese.

-You can see that serve looks very good... -He was completely up front with the way he packaged them.

-I had a plan.

I'm a master planner.

No one's gonna out plan me.

-And without batting an eyelid, the girls let themselves be formatted.

-Well, my dad, I think there's a very thin line between becoming a manager and being a coach and being a dad.

There's three different roles that, fortunately, my dad was able to do well, and as a manager, I think he's the best.

He's produced Venus and Serena Williams.

-Richard Williams sold his story as a carefully worked out plan with its characters and setting.

This was California, but not the one of sumptuous beaches and majestic palm trees.

The Williams sisters grew up in one of the worst ghettos of Los Angeles, Compton, the birthplace of gangsta rap, which had swept all along the West Coast.

-♪ Straight outta Compton ♪ ♪ Crazy ... named Ice Cube ♪ -♪ Compton, Compton, Compton ♪ -Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, N.W.A.

The icons of this movement displayed their virile, anti-establishment imagination, terrifying America.

♪♪ -That's what gangsta rap is doing to our children, turning them into gangsters.

[ Siren wails ] -Compton kind of gets that crime capital images.

♪♪ During the '80s, you had the drug wars and then the rise of gang violence.

Richard moved there by choice.

-Actually, if you look at it, the ghetto made you rough, it made you tough, it made you mentally sound.

And that's why I wanted to move to Compton.

Because I knew those three things could happen to them.

-What's up... -The film, which recounts the childhood of the Williams sisters, sticks to the father's narrative and depicts the gratuitous violence they had to endure.

-[ Groans ] [ Children gasp ] -Even transforming it into a life lesson.

-This world ain't never had no respect for Richard Williams.

But they gonna respect y'all.

They gonna respect y'all.

-We had a lot of fun.

Basically, I was a little kid, I didn't know... anything at all.

I was just going to school, having fun, and playing the junior tournaments on the weekend.

So, I didn't have a hard life at all.

-And I think he kind of exaggerated, the ghetto Cinderella-type thing was a great promotion, but they just don't have that... hood thing, you know, it was like, they lived in the hood, but they definitely were not impoverished.

-But the plan worked.

The press turned up in Compton.

-Now, we want to introduce you to a proud father, a man who is pushing his daughter, Venus Williams, to be the best in the world.

-Good racket speed.

Good racket speed, Venus.

Speed that racket head up.

-...every newspaper in the country, you know.

So, she definitely... she had it... -The spotlight enabled the reputation of the two sisters to spread beyond their small public court, and even beyond California.

♪♪ ♪♪ -Richard Williams heard my name.

He called me up on the phone, introduces himself, and he just says, "Hey, I have two daughters, Venus and Serena, and we think that you're really good.

We would like you to come to Compton."

The only thing I knew back then about Compton was riots, and you know, problems, and people, you know, dying.

And when I told him that, he goes, "Rick, Rick, Rick, if you come to Compton, I promise I won't get you shot."

And I don't know why, I just decided...

I gotta go take a look at these kids.

And I'm probably the only guy on planet Earth their best vacation ever was Compton, California.

♪♪ When I saw them compete against each other on that raggedy old court in Compton, there was something inside these two little girls.

There was, like, a rage.

There was, like, a burning desire.

It was something -- they were bulletproof.

The ball was so far away from 'em, and they'd still keep running.

Their nose would be that far off the ground.

It was, like, crazy.

So, then, I said, "Richard, come here."

I said, "You got the next female Michael Jordan on your hand."

Right then and there I said this.

And he puts his arm around me.

He goes, "no, brother man.

I got the next two."

So, four months later, we do the deal.

Same one you see in the movie.

-You know, you take these girls, you take us all, the whole family.

-I'm sorry -- you... You all want to come to Florida?

♪♪ -The Williams family moved to Florida.

Curiosity about these two African American rising stars soon grew in and around the tennis school academies.

-Venus had played 63 junior tournaments and won them all, and Serena had won 50 of her 52 competitions.

What set them apart was their outstanding athleticism and power.

-Playing on his image as father-coach, Richard Williams manipulated the media and imposed his own rules.

-In 1994, a TV show, a very, you know, high-level one, which was gonna show the next night, they did an interview in my office.

-I know I can beat her.

-You know you can beat her?

Very confident.

-I'm very confident.

-You say it so easily.

-Why?

-Because I believe it.

-I absolutely adore watching that interview between John McKenzie and Venus Williams.

-Listen, we can't keep interrupting.

I mean, if you want... -You got to understand that you're dealing with an immature 14 year old child.

-And right then and there, Richard went ballistic.

-And this child gonna be out there playing when your old ass and me gonna be in the grave!

-I literally, like, freaked out.

You know, I was sitting there going, "Oh, my God, this is the Richard I didn't want anybody to see."

-When she says something, we done told you what's happening.

You dealing with a little Black kid and let her be a kid.

She done answered it with a lot of confidence.

Leave that alone!

-When Richard actually says, "No, she has already said that she is confident in herself."

Right?

She can do this.

She can win.

You don't have to go challenge that.

I agree with so many commentators who saw that moment as an opportunity for us to recognize a Black father trying to care for his child.

What he's doing is he's standing up for the fact that she's a child.

When you go in there and you continue to re-ask the question over and over again, you put doubt into her head.

You create insecurity as opposed to reveling in the fact that she has a sense of self.

-As an African American, I understood what Richard was saying because particularly for Black girls, especially back then, there are so many negative images.

You're always told what you can't do, what you can't be.

There's so many barriers, and he was trying to instill in them this confidence.

-Now, what do I got to do that this doesn't show on TV the next day?

And typical Richard, he goes, "Rick, I want 'em to show that on TV."

-It was broadcast and became a cult sequence, but it created tension between Richard Williams and the media.

-I think it really put the media industry on notice that they needed to handle the Williams sisters differently.

It was a reminder.

"I'm just off camera.

While you can't see me in the frame, I'm in their lives.

I'm here and I will intervene if necessary."

-Cherished like treasure, the two girls were the stuff of fantasy.

-There's no doubt in my mind, you know, I've worked with enough good kids and pros.

Both kids definitely can go as far as they want.

I think the day will come that both kids might play each other in the finals of a Grand Slam.

-Her first taste of big-time tennis last night in Oakland.

-Venus's first professional matches were major events, both for the media and the general public.

-...first ever professional match, please give a warm Bay Area welcome to Venus Williams.

[ Cheers and applause ] -Was this just media hype or genuine talent?

Curiosity was tinged with ambivalence.

-The fire becomes much hotter quickly for Venus Williams.

She next faces US and French Open champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario on Wednesday.

So, save the coronations for a while... -Finally, you get there, like tonight, and you find out, wow, we don't belong here!

We belong someplace else.

We belong back in the ghetto.

-Richard Williams's attitude in front of the cameras fueled the ambiguity, which gradually built up between this atypical family and the sophisticated media world.

-What made them so different when they started playing, it's not just that they were so young, it's that they were so young and they were Black, young girls.

We certainly don't see them in the elite and privileged world of tennis.

-Steeped in its aristocratic origins, tennis has always loved to cultivate its stilted milieu.

-Each player wins one set.

-It's predominantly a white sport because it costs money.

-And while tennis has had other Black stars beyond Serena and Venus -- and that obviously includes Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Zina Garrison -- at the same time, the access to the sport has been so white and so wealthy that it actually is not integrated.

The entry level is high.

-It's certainly going to be a ladies' Wimbledon this year.

♪♪ -In an environment they weren't supposed to belong to, the two sisters were disruptive.

And rather than melding into the background, they played on their uniqueness.

♪♪ -I think who they are, which are individuals who are proud of their tennis, proud of their skills, proud of their personalities, proud of their family, all of that is expressed in how they look.

-They had these beautiful braids, like, these beautiful cornrows, and they were beaded.

And it's such a Black girl thing.

It's just so particularly Black.

And they came there, and all these little girls walking around with these little ponytails, swish, swish, swish, and then they're swishing, but it's so different!

-6-3, 6-4.

-Culturally, they were just different all the way around, but people made a bigger deal out of their fashion statement.

-[ Speaking French ] -Lionel, did you know that Venus Williams's dreadlocks weigh two kilos?

-Did you say dreadlocks?

-Yes, that's what I said.

-People latched on.

"Oh, they're making noise," and "Oh, one of her beads fell out."

It was just really bizarre to see the backlash towards.

-Well, you can hear them, and you can see them a little bit.

I mean, you know, fortunately, you know, you learn to play the ball, but I'm not gonna say it was a total distraction, but it is a little annoying maybe.

-They brought joy with their tennis, their personalities, the way they played, and their clothes, all together, created an impression.

-But people were unsettled by their difference.

Curiosity gradually gave way to mistrust... like during this match at the US Open in 1997, which Venus was taking part in for the first time in her career.

-CBS Sports coverage of the US Open continues after this message and a word from your local station.

[ Crowd gasps ] -It looked like she purposefully got into Venus's path, bumped her.

To Venus's credit, she kept walking.

-...and it appears to us, at least to me, that there was a bit of an attempt there by -- well, a collision, obviously, but a bit of an attempt by Spirlea to, uh... have the collision.

-But it was like she wanted to put her in her place.

You know, "You don't belong here.

I'm going to physically disrupt your space."

And she felt entitled to do it and felt that there would be no punishment for her.

And there was no punishment for her, except for her career didn't go as well as Venus, but you know.

[ Crowd cheering, announcer speaking indistinctly ] -In a world infatuated with its own elegance, older stars such as John McEnroe took part in the hazing of the Williams sisters.

This sort of bullying was as rare as it was out of proportion.

-I want to say, by the way, if and when I ever do beat Venus Williams, okay, or Serena Williams, whoever it is, that all the money that I will make from that match will go to charity, okay?

-The sisters responded to this gratuitous provocation with derision.

-You want a piece of me?

[ Laughter ] -McEnroe, he says stupid stuff once a week, you know?

We know men are stronger than women.

Wow.

Shocking.

-I don't know if I can fit him in my schedule right now.

[ Laughter ] I'm actually booked until April, but... Other than that, hey, if he thinks that, that's a way to think.

-I thought there is no limit to white male hubris.

Because those 40-year-old knees were not gonna do anything.

And more significantly, the fact that he would feel the need to even state that was deeply offensive.

-The hostility reached its apogee in the Californian desert.

At Indian Wells, a bastion of Republican prosperity, racist America subjected the Williams sisters' tennis and sport to an episode of rare violence.

-Welcome to viewers from British Eurosport.

It's an amazing sound here.

A crescendo of boos for Serena Williams.

And there's Father Richard coming down.

It's quite amazing.

Jo Durie alongside me, Simon Reid, there's Venus, and the crowd, an American crowd, booing an American family.

-The crowd became angry.

Venus and Richard accused people of using racial slurs.

-And you have to say that it does smack of a little bit of racism.

-Wow, I'm just speechless.

-The reason for such anger -- the semi-final scheduled between Venus and Serena.

-There was a lot of buzz about a Venus and Serena play against each other, but before they could get to it, Venus withdrew from the tournament, citing an injury.

-Everybody out there is still very skeptical about whether or not it was fixed or not.

-The rumor spread throughout the stadium.

Richard had supposedly arranged for Venus to pull out for injury to avoid having his daughters play each other.

The final then turned into a nightmare for the younger sister, thrown into the cauldron of hearsay.

[ Crowd cheering ] -She's got it.

And look at the reaction.

-They were cheering Serena's unforced errors, rooting for a Belgian player, and remember, Venus and Serena are from California, so here they are, in California, being booed.

-Top stuff.

Well played.

[ Crowd cheering, booing ] -Overcoming the shock, Richard Williams refused to turn the final into a family trauma.

-You boo us, it doesn't hurt us.

Because we was taught for things like that many, many years ago.

We came up in the '40s and the '50s, I did, and I put the same training in them, and that's why they're so composed as young ladies today.

-His daughters shared his point of view, as if there could only be one response to the hostility of Indian Wells.

-My parents were so pro-Black, is what I mean, and they really taught us from a young age that... we're gonna face different things that other people aren't gonna face.

And we were okay with that because we knew that, we were prepared for that.

That's just the way the society is currently.

-She's a champion again.

-In spite of the unruliness of the crowd, the younger sister won the match.

The March 17th, 2001 victory left a bitter taste and has been a stain on the collective memory of tennis.

-I looked at Venus and Serena as my own daughters.

Whether someone was white, or Black, whatever, if people have... if they're not used to seeing that, okay, that's their problem.

It's a human being.

It's no more than that.

-...with a pretty impressive display in the third set, but it has not been... a pleasurable experience being at this court this afternoon.

-If an audience or a stadium full of "fans," they go to booing you and hurling racial slurs at you, these are not fans.

These are people who want to watch you compete for them.

They feel entitled to your presence, entitled to your labor, entitled to your sweat.

So, they wanted to see a dogged match.

They wanted this to be a bloodbath.

And the thing is, these are two sisters.

-Indian Wells instilled doubt into people's minds.

The role of the father in his daughter's rivalry has been in question ever since.

-There's a third player in this match.

He may not even be in the stands.

It's the Williams's father.

Is it possible for a father to decide, for very personal reasons, which one of his daughters should win this afternoon?

-And accusations of cheating have followed them throughout their careers.

-Could you talk to the public in terms of... what happens when Venus plays Serena and whether there's any family decision, any discussion beforehand?

-Well, the main thing is that I find the question pretty offensive because I'm extremely professional in everything that I do, on and off the court.

And I contribute my best to my sport.

And I also have a ton of respect for myself and my family, so any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for, and my family.

So, that's pretty much how I feel about the whole subject.

-Oh, man.

Get it.

Crank it up.

-In response to these thinly veiled accusations, the Williams sisters portrayed themselves as a model American family.

The father played his favorite roles to perfection -- coach, patriarch, and mentor.

-So, you got to understand, that's the ultimate father.

He had this Muhammad Ali, "us against the world" mentality.

-The Indian Wells incident made the cover of Time magazine.

But rather than get distracted by the noise around it, Venus and Serena refused to feed the media frenzy.

-Can you describe for people the unique nature of your relationship and just how close the two of you are?

-Well, we're really close.

We've always done everything together.

We always are together.

When we were young, she used to always walk me to my classes.

-Are you ever worried, though, Serena, that the competition -- and you all are competitive, and you know, that's only natural -- but that's gonna put a strain on your relationship?

-No, I really don't think so.

-The Williams sisters were going to have to take on the rest of the world, and they would do it just as Muhammad Ali had -- by dominating their sport.

[ Crowd cheers ] -There you have it.

-It's all even, one set apiece.

-In the space of a few years, they chalked up victories on every continent.

On every surface, at every tournament, both in singles and in doubles, their rise to the top was irresistible.

They were unstoppable.

♪♪ -They're really young, aren't they?

What, 18 and 20?

That's quite impressive, as well.

So, they're making history, aren't they?

-I don't know, they just have a presence around no one else seems to have.

-Thanks to them, a new style of women's tennis was born.

More physical, more powerful, more attacking.

-They not only changed the athlete to come in, they motivated everybody else, work harder, get in the gym, get in better shape, play more aggressive.

♪♪ [ Car horns honking ] [ Applause ] -The final of the US Open in 2001 is etched in history.

-At one point earlier this week, Serena Williams said "It seems like it's everyone against us."

-The two sisters were meeting for the world number one ranking.

There were no boos that evening.

Just a final in front of millions of viewers.

-2001 was like a watershed moment for women's tennis.

That's when the US Open moved the women's final to prime time.

It had never been in prime time.

-The paternal blueprint had worked.

The predictions had been proved right.

Two African American sisters at the pinnacle of world tennis had never been seen before.

-It was big for African Americans.

It was big for women's sports.

And I think that people don't appreciate what a turning point that was in the economic power for women in general.

-The Williams sisters transformed the tennis industry and embodied a change of era.

♪♪ -There is no better athlete, no better individual in the world who better represents what it means to defy convention than Venus Williams.

-I knew Nike, Reebok, everybody would come knocking because they saw this girl could be number one in the world someday, different athlete, it's gonna radiate into the African American community where they're gonna uplift and inspire so many different people.

-♪ But when you see that Venus, she's mine ♪ -Marketing knows it's got to find the next big thing.

At the very least, it was gonna make a moment.

It would later become a mega industry.

[ Photographers shouting indistinctly ] -The phenomenon extended beyond the boundaries of sport by abandoning skirts for sheath dresses and tennis courts for catwalks.

The sisters turned up where they were least expected.

-They studied fashion, I think, the way they studied tennis.

You know, like they don't do things kind of in a namby-pamby way.

-Serena!

-Both sisters were interested in fashion from when they were little, you know, they talk about learning to sew at their mother's knee, you know, when they were little kids, they would watch their mother making clothes.

They both went to school for fashion, actually, Venus graduated.

She has her own fashion line, her own line of tennis clothing or sports clothing.

And Serena, you know, has her own fashion line and became very good friends with Anna Wintour, who, as we know, is a huge tennis fan.

-The USA is no stranger to paradox.

While the sisters were criticized for spreading themselves too thinly, their image was constantly appropriated.

-Loser talk!

-They appeared on "The Simpsons."

-Now, I'd like to introduce two of the tennis world's most unbeatable players, Venus and Serena Williams.

-And they launched their own reality TV show at the time when these programs were all the rage around the world.

♪♪ But the violence of Compton stopped them in their tracks.

-A tragic story from Compton, California tonight.

The oldest sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams was shot to death today.

-Sheriff's officials say some sort of confrontation in this Compton neighborhood south of Los Angeles led to the shooting death of 31-year-old Yetunde Price, the oldest sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.

♪♪ -She was like second mom, being the oldest daughter, she was, you know, would be in charge of them a lot of the times.

And she did their hair and that kind of thing.

So, it was kind of like somebody taking your second mom.

Well, the whole family was just stunned by it.

It took a long time for them to get over that.

-The duo were weakened, tennis was no longer a priority, and their careers went into decline.

Richard Williams hadn't prepared his daughters for this type of ordeal, nor the following ones, such as Venus's chronic illness.

-What symptoms were you experiencing?

-Well, for many, many years, I always felt like no matter how much I trained, I never had stamina.

And so, I would go to the doctor and say, "I don't feel like I can get in shape."

And so, when you only have that symptom, you know, it's tough to find something.

And then, about four years ago, I felt like I wasn't getting enough air.

-An injury for Serena which deteriorated and turned into a pulmonary embolism.

-Thank God I was able to go in and they checked me into the emergency room.

And um, I just remember they had a lot of monitors monitoring my heart because it was working too hard.

They told me that I could've died, hadn't I came in that day.

-Was it possible to return after having been so brutally confronted by illness and death?

What fatherly mantras be enough when all around seemed to be collapsing?

As such a solid duo, Venus and Serena drew upon their strong relationship to make a comeback.

They were resilient and unique.

They'd matured, and now it was time to break free.

-They were willing to speak up for, you know, the causes they believed in, that they were activists, that they were willing to, you know, say... call people out for what they thought was wrong.

-In July 2006, Venus's plea for equal pay shook Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam Tournament to pay male and female players differently.

♪♪ ♪♪ -I came into inequality at the young age of 16 when I played my first Grand Slam, and that's a rude awakening.

So, I don't want any other young women to have to face that.

-The following year, Venus forced the old institution to give in, and she received the same prize money for her victory as Roger Federer.

-Stand up, fight back!

-What are we doing?

-Stand up, fight back!

-What are we doing?

-The catharsis of the Williams sisters coincided with the awakening of social struggles in the US.

When women were taking to the streets, Serena did the same in her sport.

Whereas women players were joining forces to demand greater equality, some of the most influential men in tennis stepped out of line.

The younger Williams sister met them head on.

-If I was a lady player, I'd go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they've carried the sport.

-Obviously, um, I don't think any woman should be down on their knees.

I think those remarks are... very much mistaken, and very, very, very inaccurate.

We, as women, have come a long way, and um, we shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point.

-Her outspoken views ruffled feathers.

Tennis started to clean up its act.

-[ Crowd chanting "Black lives matter" ] -The Black Lives Matter movement was a wake up call for the US.

-You need to disperse immediately.

-Once again, Serena took part in the debates about racial discrimination as the country went up in flames.

[ Indistinct shouting ] -Back up!

Back up!

Back up!

Back up!

Back up!

-Today, we put our rackets down, and our hands up.

-Personally, there's no better time to be the color that I am.

There's no better time to be Black.

I'm proud.

I've always been proud to be who I am, to be Black.

-You know, all of that is really, really important.

Not just for tennis, but like, culture in general, right?

Like, they changed culture.

-Alongside political battles, there were others which were less visible, but more important.

Serena led them as Venus was hampered by injury.

The younger sister went up a notch.

Serena Williams broke all the records and reigned over women's tennis, becoming the world's most successful player.

She was a supreme athlete, using her aura and status to turn the court into a stage.

She transformed her sport and her country, and the way she was portrayed.

♪♪ -Whether it was the tutu, or the catsuits, or... the jeans miniskirt.

I really like Serena's train.

She wore a white dress to Wimbledon that had a giant train in the back.

Anytime you, as a public figure, as an athlete, you wear something that clearly is designed to... to capture attention and to challenge people's preconceptions and to make them think about their own expectations, that's a really interesting moment.

-An interesting moment, but far from unique.

In a reflection of society, fashion in women's tennis has always been a history of emancipation.

Up until the 1920s, the dress code for players was that of a ballroom.

Long skirt, petticoat, stockings, corset, belt, gloves, and hat.

The perfect outfit for playing low volleys at the net.

In 1921, Suzanne Lenglen stood up to the dictates of the patriarchy and played invisible white stockings.

People were shocked, but she'd started a trend.

Women got rid of the hat and started showing calves and knees.

Old fogies choked on their cigars.

After the war, things turned around.

The more that was seen, the better.

Skirts got shorter and shorter.

What needed to be hidden before now had to be shown.

The battle continued.

In the 1970s, Martina Navratilova took a stand and played in shorts, which is what the men played in.

Practical when you needed to win.

30 years later, another revolution.

The Williams sisters showed off not just their bodies, but their culture through their outfits, and helped spruce up a wardrobe which is over 100 years old.

-But I think them bringing those different looks, particularly Serena, on court, it became like a runway.

Like, what are they gonna wear next?

-One of her outfits caused a stir that far outweighed a simple question of style.

-When Serena returned from her pregnancy, she wore an updated version, a very matronly catsuit.

♪♪ She wasn't showing any skin.

It was just...

It was like a workout outfit with a band.

-She said it made her feel like a superhero, you know, which is awesome.

It's a good way to feel.

-Not everyone was of the same opinion.

The comments made by the president of the French Tennis Federation unleashed a controversy around the world.

♪♪ ♪♪ -As far as I can tell on the outside looking in, you're saying she was too bootylicious.

That's basically what you're saying to me.

Because I have seen so many, and I've been to the French Open, and you can see the women wearing mini skirts.

You can see butt cheek as they play.

And somehow, that's not offensive.

-I think there's a racial card being played here because it is Serena Williams.

The bootylicious comment.

He sounds like the beginning of the "Oh, my God," like, he's just offended.

-The debate awakened old issues in the US.

-Black women's bodies are historically fraught.

They are often sites of racial projection and stereotyping.

Black women's bodies have been subjected to objectification within history, within our culture, within science.

-It goes all the way back to slavery when they were considered property.

They were not real humans.

There was even a famous Black woman who... they would put on display, like, in the circus, because she had a huge rear end and they would make fun of her.

♪♪ -Reactionary, racist, and misogynist Americans made the most of social media and targeted the player.

♪♪ -Serena Williams's body, her musculature, her strength, her physicality stood out within the sort of white lily space of tennis.

The frailer body, the thinner body.

She looked like she could play.

And people read that as she looked like she is masculine.

She looks like she is a man.

♪♪ -Even at 9 years old, Serena had muscles.

People would ask me, "Is she doing steroids?"

And I would just -- I would laugh!

If she wasn't any good, they wouldn't say a word.

But because she's good, ah, she has to be doing something.

No!

-Objectified since childhood, yet Serena didn't hide away.

She talked publicly about her body issues.

-Do you have body issues when you were growing up?

Have you always been comfortable with your body?

-It's interesting because when you're a teenage female growing up in the public eye, it is a lot of scrutiny that you face.

And as any female that's a teenager, I definitely was not comfortable in my body.

I didn't like it.

I didn't understand why I had muscles.

-But she also called for young girls and women to claim back their bodies.

-But then, after I won the US Open, I realized that my body helped me reach goals that I wanted to reach.

And I felt like, not only am I happy with my body, but I want other people and other young girls that have experienced what I've experienced to be happy with themselves.

[ Cheers and applause ] -They knew they were gonna be looked at, and... if people are gonna be looking at you and judging you, you might as well take that... you know, the point of view of the beholder and turn it to your own ends, right?

And use it to make a statement that you want to make.

So you're the subject of something, not the object.

-Along with Venus, Serena turned the stigma on its head.

Rather than hiding their disparaged bodies, they expose them.

"Black is Beautiful" recaptured its former piquancy.

-They have said, I am feminine, I am fashion, I am vogue, I am where it's at.

And so, they have redefined our understanding of beauty by highlighting the beauty that was already there.

It's only redefined for white eyes.

We always knew they were beautiful.

We always knew their bodies were something to behold.

And so, what they did was they mainstreamed it.

-The supposedly ugly bodies were also supposedly threatening.

In her memoirs, Maria Sharapova wrote about Serena's body.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ It was misogynoir mixing racism and sexism, trapping Serena Williams in yet another cliché.

-I express who I am.

We're in America, last I checked.

-That of the angry Black woman.

All throughout her career, her temper tantrums have been scrutinized, commented on, and blown out of proportion.

-Her worst episodes, they've only happened in the US.

-Okay, that ball was out.

Wha-- what?

That ball was out.

I thought it was good.

-No way.

-No way!

-Excuse me?

That ball was so in!

-Fast forward to 2009.

She erupted in anger with the line judge and went overboard and said, "Hey, I'm gonna shove this ball down your effing mouth."

Way over the top, way out of line.

It was somehow translated into she threatened to kill the woman.

-I didn't say I would kill you!

Are you serious?

-The worst was 2018, in the final against Naomi Osaka when Serena thought she was being unfairly accused of cheating.

-I have never cheated in my life!

I have a daughter and I stand what's right for her, and I've never cheated!

And you owe me an apology!

You stole a point from me.

You're a thief, too.

-Verbal abuse.

-That evening, Serena shifted the controversy onto the terrain of discrimination and polarized the US.

♪♪ ♪♪ -But you know how many other men -- You know how many other men do things that are -- I don't think I do much worse than that.

This is not fair.

-Serena's right when she says this probably would've been handled differently if it were men playing, okay?

But she also has to accept her own responsibility for letting it continue during the match and get out of hand.

-I heard Serena, and everybody did, saying this isn't fair, if it was a guy... -It became a national debate.

-Men are outspoken when they stand up for themselves and women are looked at as hysterical.

We are not.

We are also speaking up.

Murray... -Major figures weighed in on the matter, including Billie Jean King, former player and champion of gender equality in her day.

-Beautiful shot and the Wimbledon title is hers.

Mrs. Billie Jean King of America, the new queen of tennis.

-It's different now.

Women are standing up.

They're not -- They don't care anymore.

If they're gonna be outspoken and have their opinions, it's good.

People have a hard time accepting it.

♪♪ -The aftermath of that were a series of racist, you know, cartoons.

A lot of discourse that she should've just swallowed that moment and lost with dignity.

She is a sore loser.

♪♪ -This is outrageous, you know?

And I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions and that want to express themselves, and they want to be a strong woman, and they're gonna be allowed to do that because of today.

Maybe it didn't work out for me, but it's gonna work out for the next person.

-Serena and her sister were born not just to make history, but to change it.

And what was seen as touching self-confidence 30 years ago has now become reality.

-If you were a tennis player, who would you want to be like?

-Well, I'd like other people to be like me.

-The influence that they've had, the amount of African American women who entered the sport because of them.

Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys.

-Someone like Big Faux.

You can have someone like Lewis Hamilton who said, "Oh, I watch the Williams sisters, so I knew that there was a place for me here."

-It definitely helped a lot because I saw somebody look like me dominating the game, and it made me believe that I could dominate, too.

-They've inspired the African American community.

I've seen that even at my academy, other academies, I've seen it in tournaments from everywhere.

♪♪ -The myth making machine has finally caught up with their story.

A sign that they're now part of the great national narrative.

A blockbuster centered around sport and the life of two African American girls never before seen in Hollywood.

The film ends on a symbolic note.

Venus and Serena open the doors to the American dream, to all those who thought they'd been locked out from it.

[ Crowd cheering ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪