Serena and Venus Williams's father left severely disabled by series of strokes as he fights ex-wife for house

Richard Williams practices with his daughter, Serena, in 1991 in the Los Angeles district of Compton. Now aged 76, he is in poor health - Getty Images
Richard Williams practices with his daughter, Serena, in 1991 in the Los Angeles district of Compton. Now aged 76, he is in poor health - Getty Images

Serena and Venus Williams’s father Richard has suffered a series of strokes which have left him barely able to speak, according to court documents he filed in Florida to argue that his ex-wife has unlawfully taken over his home.

Richard Williams, 76, has accused his ex wife Lakeisha, 38, of taking advantage of his diminished capacities to transfer  the home they shared to her name, and claims she forged his signature on the mortgage documents.

In court papers filed on November 27, obtained by DailyMail.com, he showed examples of his signature from 2002 and the 2017 document, in an attempt to prove the difference.

The couple filed for divorce in 2017, after seven years of marriage. They have a six-year-old son, Dylan.

Mr Williams claims his former wife transferred the deed for one of his homes in Palm Beach, Florida, to herself without his permission and then took out a $152,000 mortgage from an associate, David Simon, using Mr Williams' forged signature.

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Serena and Venus Williams, pictured at Wimbledon in 2016

Mr Williams was known to be in poor health, but the documents detail how he suffered two strokes and now relies on his son, Chavoita LeSane, 45, who has now been given power of attorney.

Mr LeSane acts as his translator, the documents state, because Mr Williams suffers from a neurological condition which affects his mouth and limits his speech.

Mr Williams is credited as being a powerful force behind the tennis careers of his daughters Serena, 37, and Venus, 38.

In July, Mr Williams faced a mental evaluation after he failed to give “coherent answers” during a deposition, which had to be cancelled altogether due to his state.

Last June, Mr Williams filed another lawsuit accusing his estranged wife of stealing his social security cheques.

He then sought a violent protective order against her, claiming she was stalking him and Mr LeSane, who filed a similar lawsuit.

In response, she claimed that Mr Williams threw her out of their Florida home, which was owned by Serena, and that the tennis star's legal team wrote to her, “requesting she and [her] child vacate the home and threatened to change the locks.”

The case continues.