Venus and Serena Williams are 'very horrible people' claims Wimbledon tennis racket stringer

 

A tennis racket stringer to the stars has branded Venus and Serena Williams “very horrible people” and revealed how Anna Kournikova was forced to make tea for him by her mother.

Liam Nolan, Wimbledon’s former head stringer, said Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic went to him for advice on where to pick up women while Rafael Nadal has “excellent” barbecuing skills.

Mr Nolan, a friend of the Murray family, left Wimbledon in 2002 after 20 years to found the UK Racket Stringing Association.

He said stringers at the All England Club are paid just £100 for a 13-hour day, having to string up to 32 rackets with only a half-hour break, and are subjected to the wrath of players who blame them for their defeats.

He told The Times: “They throw their weight around. If they lose a match, it’s never their lack of skill, it’s always the fault of the stringer. They vent their frustrations on those in the area.”

Mr Nolan added: “I didn’t like working with the Williams sisters: they’re very horrible people really. I remember we were raising some money for a kids’ hospice and we would have two T-shirts that we’d get all the players to sign and they were the only two who refused to sign it because they said they had not got enough time.”

But Kournikova was not allowed any diva-like behaviour on a visit to his workshop.

“I said: ‘How about I offer you a cup of tea or coffee?’ and her mum said: ‘Yes, a cup of tea would be lovely, but Anna will make the tea’. And Anna Kournikova was not impressed by this at all. She had to walk through where all the stringers were with a tray of teas.”

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