Key Biscayne, Fla. – Venus Williams is the definition of fighting spirit. She has been diagnosed with an incurable illness called Sjogren’s syndrome , which affects energy levels and causes pain in the joints. Yet she has vowed to rise again and dominate the tennis world.
Williams said,
“I just didn’t feel well before my second-round match, to the point where I couldn’t play. At the beginning of the tournament, I wasn’t sure how far I would get or what I would do, I was kind of living on a hope and a dream.When you don’t feel well and things are taken away from you, it’s hard to stay positive. But, for me, it is not an option to get negative or to feel sorry for myself. It’s easy to say, ‘I’ve done enough’ — or it would be easy to go on a permanent vacation. But I need to look back and know that I gave everything. I know I still have so much more. Before I was sick I was on top of the world in singles and doubles. So that’s my goal, to return to that. I’m looking forward to coming back. Sjogren’s syndrome definitely changed my life, it changed everything. It changed how I eat, it changed my whole life.”
Ever the aggressor, Williams took a big step in her comeback Friday night when she defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open.
Williams says her diet is playing a major role in her comeback and she hopes that with her current workout and diet plan she will eventually be symptom free.
In regards to her diet, Williams said,
“I don’t think the road will be perfect, but I think I can get it as close to perfect as possible. My hope is to be symptom-free one day. I work with my doctors on that, but also I work on my diet, which I’ve found has been huge. With Sjogren’s you deal with a lot of fatigue and joint pain and inflammation. It’s because of the things I’m eating. I’ve started eating raw, vegan, unprocessed foods, doing lots of juicing, I juice twice a day. I drink wheatgrass. For me, it’s worth doing everything I can to get back to what I love doing.”
Do you think that Venus Williams will be able to rise again to the top of the tennis world?
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