VENUS and Serena Williams are no strangers to controversy. But, unlike many of the divas on the women’s tennis circuit, they are famous for their grace under fire.
Whether they’re playing in a Grand Slam event – or fielding questions about their outspoken father, Richard, or aggressive half-brother, Richard III – the sisters remain composed.
It’s a trait, they say, they get from their mother.
“For some reason, we’re always in the middle of some ridiculousness,” Venus, 20, said before she was bounced from the French Open on Monday. “But I try to be like my mom, and not let it get to me. She is always calm, always cool. There isn’t much that can shake her.”
Oracene, the placid Williams matriarch, holds the household together in spite of the chaos brought on by the men.
In a rare interview, the 48-year-old former nurse explains why she is unfazed by rumors of abuse at the hands of her husband – something she doesn’t deny – and stories claiming the family fixes the sisters’ tennis matches – something she does deny.
“We have faith in our family and we don’t let anyone disturb that,” Oracene told The Post from her home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. “We don’t care what others believe about us. They are not living our lives, we are.”
She admits she’s the direct opposite of her publicity-hungry husband, Richard, 58, who once claimed he was buying Rockefeller Center and has been known to hold up hand-written signs during his daughters’ matches.
“I don’t need glory – I’m already happy with myself,” Oracene said. “This is my daughters’ time to shine. I don’t want to be in the way.”
ORACENE is remarkably patient with her difficult husband, whom she married in 1980 after he relentlessly pursued her following a bus-stop meeting in California.
Despite rumors of a separation, Oracene says she and Richard still live together. Yet she won’t deny her husband struck her on at least one occasion, in February 1999.
That night, Oracene went to the hospital with a fractured rib, and was accompanied by Venus and Serena. When officers questioned Oracene about the injury, she said: “I know you know what happened, but I am fearful for my daughters’ careers.”
The tennis stars were evasive, as well. Venus was “adamant” her mother’s comments not be reported.
When asked about the incident months later, Richard claimed he was in Chicago at the time. He said his wife had injured herself jet-skiing.
But last week, Oracene told The Post firmly: “I don’t jet-ski.”
As for what did transpire that evening?
“I don’t want to discuss it.”
In 1997, police had also been summoned to the Williams home, but Oracene sent them away. In both cases, authorities left domestic-abuse pamphlets in the mailbox.
Richard III, 35 – Richard’s son by a previous marriage – shares a penchant for chilling rage.
Last month, Richard III was arrested for battery. In two recorded 911 calls, Richard III’s wife, Ana, cried for help, claiming her husband choked her, stopping only when she passed out.
Last Thursday, Ana asked the court to rescind a no-contact order and Richard III has returned to his home.
THE apparent cycle of recurring abuse is something Oracene refused to discuss. She feels no need to clarify or explain her life.
“Let ’em try and find something out about us,” she said of reporters. “If they find something that’s true, fine. Find something that’s not true? Fine too.”
She only gets peeved when she reads negative or untrue stories about her children, but not about herself.
“I know it will go away,” she said. “I don’t have time for doing anything about it. Life is too short.”
Instead, she focuses on steering her two superstar daughters down the right path in life.
With the help of her three other daughters, Oracene provides a safe cocoon for the tennis stars.
“We want them to be able to transcend tennis,” Oracene said. “They need to have balance. We don’t want them to become fanatical.
“When I was growing up I remember a lot of athletes who got in trouble or lost their money,” she explained. “I always thought, ‘What would I do if I was in that position?’ Now, I want to make sure my daughters don’t fall into any snares. I want them to have all their options.”