© Getty Images Sport – Michael Regan
Venus Williams took to Instagram to recount one of the most special wins of her career as the seven-time Grand Slam champion still remembers extremely well her first WTA title after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
After struggling with fatigue and painful joints for seven years without a clear reason, Williams – now 43 years old – was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011. Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease, usually reflects in dry eyes and mouth but can also impact other parts of the body. Fatigue and pain in joints are also pretty common in people battling Sjogren’s syndrome.
Following her diagnosis in 2011, Williams stepped away from pro tennis to address the issue. After giving a walkover to Sabine Lisicki in the 2011 US Open second round, Williams didn’t play again until 2012 March when she competed in Miami.
In her first nine comeback tournaments, Williams had a couple of notable runs but they didn’t result in any titles. Then in her last tournament of the season in 2012 October, Williams defeated Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-3 in the Luxembourg Open final to win her 44th WTA title and her first since 2010 February.
On Instagram Story, Williams posted a photo of her Luxembourg trophy and captioned…
