Her junior sister dominates the headlines on this site, but now it’s Venus grabbing the headlines, albeit not in a way she would have preferred.
According to Jocksandstilettojill.com, she announced earlier today that she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome — an autoimmune rheumatic disease that creates joint pain and fatigue. Right before her match with Sabine Lisicki, she pulled out of the US Open altogether even though she won her previous match two days earlier.
Luckily, Williams is staying upbeat about the unfortunate news and is thankful to have received a diagnosis.
“I enjoyed playing my first match here and wish I could continue but right now I am unable to,” Venus Williams said in a statement. “I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon.”
According to the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation website, four million Americans are living with this condition. Venus has already won the US Open twice before in her career, so hopefully she can make the adjustment and continue to be a dominant tennis player along with her sister.
The Williams Sisters have overcome adversity before, so i’m sure its just a matter of time before we see Venus on her A-game once again. I doubt this diagnosis will hinder her, but rather make her stronger.
We should be seeing more of this in the future…