Venus Williams Sjogren's Syndrome
Venus Williams has Sjögren’s syndrome, an auto immune disease that causes a persons white blood cells to attack moisture producing glands. Thursday, on Good Morning America, she sat down to discuss her recently diagnosed illness (pronounced show-grins) and her decision to drop out of the U.S. Open.
My hands started swelling, my joints started to kinda change shape. I had some of the classic symptoms, dry eyes and dry mouth, and then, you know, I lost a lot of feel. Like, I would miss shots by feet and I just couldn’t feel my hands, and my hands would hurt when I was playing. I had swelling and numbness, and then fatigue which is really debilitating.
Williams, 31, said that her decision to withdraw from the U.S. Open came after having a tough practice where she wasn’t able to lift her arms. She then realized she could not compete through the remaining matches.
Williams won her first-round match against Russia’s Vesna Delonts, 6-4, 6-3.
The women’s tennis circuit isn’t the same without the Williams sisters, but health and wellness come first. We wish Venus the best.
You can learn more about the disease via the The Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation.
