Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but even she has to slow down when a health crisis hits. On Tuesday, the tennis champion shocked fans with a TikTok video that revealed she’s been dealing with a cyst on her neck.
In the video, as she’s in the hospital, Williams explains that in May she discovered a mass on her neck. Luckily, all the tests were negative, but as the cyst grew to the size of a grapefruit, doctors told her to have it removed.
“It could get infected or, worse, leak. So this is me removing it,” Williams wrote in the caption. “I am feeli[n]g so grateful and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all, I’m healthy.”
Williams revealed that she had a branchial cyst. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is a “small fluid-filled sacs that may look like lumps under your skin on the side of your neck.”
She admits that she was “a little scared,” but she’s ready to “move on” and heal. It seems like everything went OK and now she will take time to focus on getting better. However, she did have to make a quick stop first.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion wrapped up her video by taking her older daughter, Olympia, to an American Girl doll store — because when you’re a mom, you don’t get extra time to go home and remove the bandages. “Mommy is suffering, but mom has to keep showing up,” Williams said.
In a follow up post on X, she lamented missing the Glamour Women of the Year awards and tennis great Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement, but wrote, “I am still recovering, but getting better. Health always comes first.”
Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, recently made news when they revealed new photos of their one-year-old daughter, Adira. Her Instagram page, which probably already has more followers than you, posted the photos with the caption, “Oh hello there- I know it’s been over a year but I’m just getting to this.”