Tennis legend Venus Williams is shedding light on a deeply personal health struggle that nearly derailed her career and quality of life, one that she says was routinely dismissed by doctors for years.
In a new interview with TODAY, the 45-year-old seven-time Grand Slam champion revealed she silently endured debilitating symptoms caused by undiagnosed fibroids and adenomyosis, despite repeatedly seeking medical help.
“I was outraged,” Williams said. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me, and no one should have to go through this.”
Misdiagnosed for Decades
Williams said her health concerns began in adolescence with intense cramps, heavy bleeding, and monthly episodes so painful they left her vomiting and bedridden.
“I’d be hugging the toilet, waiting for it to pass,” she recalled. Even when anti-doping tests revealed she was anemic, doctors brushed off her symptoms as “normal.” Some even attributed her chronic fatigue and low iron to Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune condition she was diagnosed with in 2011.
For years, the tennis star continued to train and compete despite mounting pain, nausea, and fatigue. At one point, during Wimbledon 2016, the pain was so overwhelming that she lay on the locker room floor until her sister Serena summoned a doctor.
“We had a doubles final to play next,” Williams said. “I was just lying there, thinking, ‘It’s gonna pass.’”
A Hidden Diagnosis Finally Revealed
It wasn’t until her late 30s that Williams learned the true cause of her symptoms: uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, conditions that disproportionately affect Black women. According to the Cleveland Clinic, up to 80% of Black women develop fibroids before the age of 50.
Despite undergoing ultrasounds, doctors never explained the size or severity of her fibroids. One even joked that her symptoms were “natural birth control” — a comment she now calls cruel and dismissive.
“Looking back, that’s not funny at all. To take away someone’s opportunity to have a child or create a family if they want to — it’s not a joke,” she was candid.
A Turning Point and Life-Saving Care
It wasn’t until Williams saw a social media post about fibroids that she realized her suffering wasn’t normal.
“I got so excited,” she said. “I dived into the research all that weekend.”
Her search led her to NYU Langone Health’s Center for Fibroid Care, where Dr. Taraneh Shirazian diagnosed her with large fibroids and recommended a myomectomy — a surgery that removes fibroids but preserves the uterus.
“I’d seen a dozen other doctors, and no one ever recommended surgery,” Williams said, initially wary of the advice. But ultimately, she underwent the procedure, which significantly improved her quality of life.
Raising Awareness for Black Women
Williams is now using her platform to raise awareness about fibroids and the systemic dismissal of women — especially Black women — in medical settings.
“Women do not get the care they need for fibroid disease,” said Dr. Shirazian. “Venus is a world-class athlete with access to everything. If it happened to her, imagine what’s happening to women without those resources.”
Williams hopes that by sharing her experience, others will feel empowered to advocate for themselves.
“Hopefully someone will see this and say, ‘I don’t have to live like this,’” she said. “I’m very passionate about this now because I know other people can live better than what I lived.”
