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U.S. Open notebook Meet Venus Williams' other coach
Posted: Tuesday August 31, 1999 08:35 PM By Richard Deitsch, Sports Illustrated NEW YORK -- You've never heard of him. But outside of Richard and Oracene Willliams, Dave Rineberg probably knows Venus Williams' tennis game better than anyone. While Czar Richard oversees his daughters' strokes and is listed as their coach, the 33-year-old Rineberg has traded thousands upon thousands of groundstrokes with Venus at the family's compound in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Since 1992 Rineberg has been employed as the family's "hitting coach." When Rineberg spoke with SI at the Open he was carrying around a weather-worn leather notebook containing the latest entries of an ongoing diary of Venus's practice and match play that dates back to when she was 12. He says he has dozens and dozens of pages chronicling her meteoric rise from prodigy to top-five player. Initially, he says, Richard Williams would take his notes and distill his critique, passing on the information to Venus and sister Serena for study. As they got older, Rineberg would either go over the notes with Venus (he's worked with her more than Serena) or voice his observations about her game and what she needed to do to improve. With the sisters playing more tournaments and subsequently practicing away from home, Rineberg is hitting less and less with Venus these days. His last major workout with her was prior to Wimbledon, though he did put her through a 30-minute session Sunday morning on Court 3 at the National Tennis Center, the day after Venus defeated Lindsay Davenport at the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven, Conn. Though Richard Williams has other hitting partners working with Venus and Serena this week, he has Rineberg on call in case he needs him. "I've got my cell phone with me," Rineberg says. "Richard could call anytime and say 'Meet me on the court.'" Rineberg predicts both sisters will reach the semifinals, and he thinks Venus will win it all. He says her recent victory over Davenport, the player who has given Venus the most trouble over her short career, has added even more bravado to an already confident player. "She's seen them all and beaten them all now -- especially Lindsay," he says. "Last year Lindsay was in her half of the draw and that was the problem-stopper and we knew it." Another reason for the rise in Venus's play, according to Rineberg, has been a grip change. She exchanged a Western forehand for a semi-Eastern grip prior to the Australian Open. The change was made so Venus, a long-legged 6'2" on a tour where players average five to seven inches shorter, would possess more control while hitting low balls. When first making the change in January, Rineberg says Venus sent numerous balls over the practice fence, a la your average Saturday afternoon hacker. But within three weeks she had come to grips with the new grip. "She was looking at the top players -- [Martina] Hingis and Davenport -- and how they were controlling the ball and hitting the ball heavier, and she knew that was a change she needed to make," says Rineberg. "I showed up for practice one day in January and that was the talk: 'We're going to change the forehand grip.'" The proof is in the winning: Williams is 26-4 on hard courts this year. After whitewashing Tatiana Poutchek in less than an hour in the first round of the Open, she was asked whether anybody could beat her if she was at the top of her game. "Not in my opinion," she said. Rineberg says he hopes Richard Williams will come to a decision by next year's Australian Open whether to have Rineberg travel with Venus on a full-time basis. In the interim, he says eight agents have contacted him about working with their clients. He currently runs his own tennis training service in Florida. "I've been with him now eight years and I've been through scenarios like this before, where he'll kind of separate himself from me," says Rineberg. "Then the next week everything is back to normal. So you never know. "One of the things we've talked about is that [Venus and Serena] are traveling full-time now. I told Richard I wanted to make sure my name is in the hat in the event he steps away and puts somebody out there full-time. He said, 'Don't worry. Your name is in that hat.' As far as a timeframe, I'd say by next year's Australian Open I'll know if it's going to happen or not." Richard Williams roars Williams, the Nostradamus of tennis parents, is back to predicting the outcome of tournaments. Asked who liked to reach the finals, Williams said his daughters would meet in an All-Williams final. Naturally, he added a caveat: "Of course, I'd beat both of them if I was playing." Mother knows best Following her first-round match against Kveta Hrdlickova, Hingis said she won't be leaving the nest again anytime soon. Hingis took the bold move of traveling to Wimbledon without Melanie Molitior, her mother and coach, only to flame out in the first round against Jelena Dokic. "I just wanted to try it on my own," Hingis says. "It didn't work out. It's great she wanted to do it with me again. I'm very happy that we have found a way to come back together." The No. 1 seed plays Sarah Pitkowski of France in the second round Wednesday afternoon on her way to what seems like an inevitable showdown with Venus Williams in the semifinals. Odds and ends Things you can always count on at Flushing Meadows: Price-gouging, Mary Pierce bowing out by the quarters, and a daily Alan King sighting. Between puffs on a cigarette and a quick chat with a pair of leggy blondes, King admits he's become a recent convert to the women's game, joining John McEnroe as born-again women's tennis fan. "When the women were playing I used to read a magazine and not miss a point," says King, who has been attending the United States Championships since 1948. "Something is happening now in women's tennis that is exciting. As a dramatist I like to see the excitement that is happening in women's tennis." He likes Venus Williams to take the crown. ... Steffi Graf disappeared from the WTA Tour rankings for good on Monday, departing as the highest-ranked player (No. 3) ever to retire from professional play. ... Love must be in the air on the WTA Tour. Among the upcoming nuptials: Mary Joe Fernandez, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Lisa Horn. ... After each round I'll give my pick for the most overpriced item at the U.S. Open. Today's selection is a 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi. The price? $3.95. For the same cost I could have traveled the New York subway system twice, bought a New York Post and still had 45 cents left over to donate to my favorite USTA program. ... A final men's note: Hated to see Pete Sampras pull out like he did, but watch out for Russian Marat Safin (I told you he would shock Sampras and it's a bummer they won't settle it on the court). If form holds true he and Nicolas Lapentti will meet in the fourth round. Bet on the winner of that match reaching the semifinals. Richard Deitsch is a Sports Illustrated reporter.
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