Serena Williams sends emotional message to sister Venus as she bravely opens up about Fibroids affecting her tennis career

Serena Williams penned a heartfelt message for her sister, Venus Williams, who recently revealed her suffering from fibroids. The latter also opened up about how it affected her tennis career.

Venus is one of the most formidable tennis players, as she has solidified her legacy in the sport, winning four Olympic gold medals, seven Grand Slam titles, and over $42 million in prize money in her career. Although she has stepped out of the court and isn’t playing full-time, the American has not retired and might still make a comeback.

Behind her stellar career, Venus gracefully hid a health issue for 30 years until recently, as she opened up about fighting a battle against uterine fibroids in a conversation with Self magazine. She recalled a painful memory from her first French Open, revealing that she dealt with a lot of pain during the match.

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The conversation was shared by the magazine on their Instagram handle, which garnered attention from Serena Williams, who reposted it on her Instagram story and penned a short yet emotional note that read:

"Your courage🥲🥲👏🏿"

In her next Instagram story, Serena reshared a post about her sister talking about not having the best care, as she said:

"You would imagine that I would have access to the best health care and I did. But I still didn't have the best health care," said Venus Williams.

Reacting to this, Serena penned yet another heartfelt note that read:

"She fought so hard."

Serena Williams' sister's diagnosis was confirmed in 2016, and ever since then, she has been dealing with painful periods.

When Serena Williams made her feelings known about competing against her sister Venus Williams

In July 2018, Serena Williams sat for an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine after featuring on the magazine's cover. In this conversation, the former top seed opened up about her bond with her sister, Venus Williams, revealing how she felt while competing against her during the tennis matches.

Stating that she wanted to win but also felt awful after winning, Serena said:

"I want [Venus] to win every time she’s playing, except when she’s playing me. And when she’s playing me, I want her to win, but I want to win – and I feel awful if I win. It’s this incredible fight inside of myself," Serena Williams said.

Talking about her coping mechanism while locking horns with her sister on the tennis court, she added:

"I have to pretend she’s someone else. I always tell myself, in 10 years, none of this is going to matter, we’ll still be sisters and she’s not going to be upset with me for beating her in this particular tournament."

Venus Williams was last seen on the court in March 2024, where she competed at the Miami Open. On the other hand, Serena retired from the sport after competing at the 2022 US Open.

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About the author

Nancy Singh

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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