Serena Williams opens up about recent cyst scare

Serena Williams is on the road to recovery after recently undergoing surgery to remove a benign gill cyst on her neck.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, who turned 43 last month, opened up about her recent health crisis in a series of social media posts this week, writing on TikTok that she discovered the lump back in May and responded to it An MRI gave her the diagnosis. After doctors told her she didn’t have to remove it if she “didn’t want it,” it “continued to grow,” Williams wrote, reaching the size of a “small grapefruit.”

Further tests – including a biopsy – followed, and Williams still thought it was harmless and ultimately decided to have it removed.

Sharing a video of herself in a hospital bed, Williams continued: “So I’m removing it. I’m so grateful and happy that everything worked out, and most importantly, I’m healthy.”

The procedure caused her to miss ShineLast week the Women of the Year Awards took place in New York. where she was honored as one of the magazine’s “Global Women of the Year.”as well as the announcement of another all-time great Rafael Nadal’s impending retirement from tennis.

“Health always comes first,” she wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, adding that she was “still recovering.”

Her husband, businessman and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, was the leader among the scores of fans who sent the former world No. 1 encouraging messages in the comments of her posts.

“I’m really lucky to have worked with some great doctors,” Williams said in her video, writing that “everything is fine.”