Buffs Tennis Alums Manzi, Johnson Appear In Hit Movie ‘King Richard’

BOULDER — It might not have been a complete “15 minutes of fame,” but former Colorado tennis standout Carla Manzi and her husband, Richard Johnson, are nevertheless still enjoying their brief volley with the world of the big screen.

The two both make appearances in the critically acclaimed movie “King Richard,” the biopic of Richard Williams, whose determination and resilience helped turn his daughters Venus and Serena into two of the greatest women’s tennis players in history.

Manzi, who played at CU from 2010 through 2014, appears in the movie’s crucial final scene as a pro player warming up on a court adjacent to the one where Venus Williams makes her pro debut against then-top-ranked Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.

Johnson, who played collegiately at Pepperdine before serving a year at CU as a volunteer assistant coach, has a brief appearance as Venus’ hitting coach.

Both spent a long day of filming in Los Angeles for their scenes, the result of a “friend of a friend” encounter while living in the area during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They needed players who were proficient at tennis, at least at the college or pro level,” Johnson said. “We looked into it and ended up doing it.”

But a few days before they were scheduled to be part of filming, they both realized they hadn’t been brushing up on their games — so they spent several days on the court, practicing and preparing.

“I was nervous,” Manzi said with a laugh. “I hadn’t been playing much tennis and didn’t know I would be part of the movie until the last minute.”

Both have strong backgrounds in tennis.

Manzi was a highly ranked junior player in Colombia before being recruited to CU, where she was a four-year letterwinner while racking up 110 combined doubles and singles wins, 20th on Colorado’s all-time list.

Johnson, a two-time Colorado state prep champion at Fruita, played on Pepperdine’s 2006 national championship team. When he graduated and began his pursuit of a law degree at CU, he also picked up a position as a volunteer coach with the Buffs.

But neither of them ever envisioned a moment when their tennis skills would lead to an appearance in a movie — especially one that earned six Oscar nominations and earned its star, Will Smith, a Best Actor award.

Both said one of…