The premise seems too fantastic to be true: the two greatest tennis players of their era — one of them among the best of all time — come from an African-American family in Compton, California. It makes sense that this real-life story would become a documentary.
“In the Arena: Serena Williams,” occupying the same genre as “The Last Dance” and the documentary chronicling Tom Brady’s career, “Man in the Arena,” explores the life and times of an outsized sports personality. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the two series’ similar titles, Brady serves as an executive producer of the eight-part Williams documentary, along with Serena herself.
Rise from Obscurity
The series’ first episode focuses on Williams’ upbringing, which places the millions she later earned playing tennis in stark contrast. Serena, the youngest of five girls in her household, grew up without a bed to sleep in at the family’s modest home. It was in these years that Serena grew incredibly close to her sister Venus, the fourth of the five girls in the Williams house.
Few may remember it now, but Serena’s tennis career started almost as an afterthought, as the tennis press focused almost exclusively on older sister Venus’ development. Even though her father, Richard, tried to shield his daughters from the pressure that comes with playing competitive sports at a young age, Venus made a celebrated debut at the ripe age of 14, in 1994.
In the documentary, Serena noted that the press attention on her older sister allowed her to pass under the
