Serena Williams has shared a health update after having surgery to remove a cyst ‘the size of a small grapefruit’.
The retired tennis legend, 43, revealed on social media that she found a lump on her neck in May, but that ‘all is OK’.
Serena Williams has undergone surgery to remove a cystSerena Williams
She had an MRI exam, and was initially told she didn’t need to get it removed if she didn’t want to.
However, Williams added the cyst ‘kept growing’ and after more tests, including a biopsy that was negative for cancer, doctors advised her to have a procedure.
Sharing a video from her hospital bed on Wednesday [October 16], the 23-time Grand Slam champion wrote: “So this is me removing it. I am feeling so grateful, and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I’m healthy.”
In a separate social media post, Williams said she is ‘still recovering, but getting better’.
She also expressed disappointment at missing fellow tennis legend Rafael Nadal‘s retirement and Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year Awards in recent weeks, but concluded that ‘health always comes first’.
Despite stepping away from the sport in 2022, Williams has remained an avid fan of both the men’s and women’s game.
She worked as a pundit on ESPN for the US Open this year, and shared some wisdom for fellow American star Coco Gauff, who crashed out in the fourth round of the competition.
“I feel like she has a good serve,” Williams said after Gauff suffered 19 double faults in her defeat to Emma Navarro.
“I think that it can obviously be better, but I feel like she’s so young. She has the rest of her career to just improve. I wouldn’t change anything on her forehand.
“I’ve seen a lot of interesting forehands. And listen, if you’re just confident in whatever you have, keep it up, and just be confident about it.
Williams has shared advice for fellow American Coco GauffAFP
“That’s literally all she needs to do is just have confidence, whether she’s hitting it with her wrist or elbow. Just have confidence doing it.”
In recent weeks, Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian has also revealed that she motivated him to became a lead investor for the LA based women’s soccer team, Angel City FC, to help ensure a better future for their daughter Olympia.
Ohanian made the investment in 2020 and has joined the fight to pay professional female athletes what they are worth, thanks in part to a conversation with his wife.
“We were watching the final of the [women’s] World Cup in 2019,” he said, speaking at a conference in September.
“Olympia was running around in her Alex Morgan jersey, and I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if she played on a national team one day?’
“And Serena was like, ‘Not until they pay her what she’s worth.’ And I was like, ‘touché, okay, challenge accepted.’ And that’s what motivated me to buy a team and help be a part of the change.”
