The story of the childhood home of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams has been volleying back and forth over the last five years. The Florida home, which is currently owned by Lakeisha Williams, the stepmother of the Williams sisters, will finally be auctioned off after Lakeisha made numerous visits to stop the sale of the foreclosed property, which is estimated to be worth $1.42 million.
Meanwhile, the father of the Williams sister, Richard Williams, has filed a lawsuit claiming the house should be his as he alleges Lakeisha forged his signature to take over control of the house and borrow against it. According to Richard’s attorneys, Lakeisha took advantage of his incapacitated state at the time as he was living with dementia and had suffered two strokes and brain damage.
Venus and Serena, who grew up in Compton area of Los Angeles, moved to the house as teenagers with their parents after Richard bought the property in 1995. The property features two tennis courts on its 10-plus acre lot. It is where Richard trained his daughters, who went on to forever change the world of tennis.
Lakeisha and Richard wed in 2009, seven years after Richard divorced Venus and Serena’s mother, Oracene Price. Lakeisha and Richard split in 2017, and have one son.
When Richard and Price divorced, he kept the home. When he and Lakeisha divorced, she took over the residence.
Lakeisha, 43, was unable to keep up with the loan payments and has owed lender David Simon $472,000 since February 2017. Simon filed a lien against the property.
She applied for and was denied Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection twice, so the house will be auctioned off later this month.
According to the notice of sale, the house will go to “the highest and best bidder for cash,” TMZ reported.
Located in the Palm Beach Gardens area of the Sunshine State, the house will now go to the highest bidder. It features four bedrooms, two-and-a-half-baths. It was built in the 1980s and has fallen into major disrepair.
Serena retired from tennis earlier this month after winning 23 majors throughout her 26-year career. She is worth an estimated $250 million, while Venus has a net worth of $95 million.
