Serena Williams confesses that she has overcome a difficult health issue that forced her to put everything on hold

The tennis legend shares a candid update on her fitness journey

Serena Williams.LAPRESSE

Serena Williams has never been shy about embracing new challenges, even after stepping away from professional tennis. Last year she told fans she wanted to test herself in a different arena.

But the competitive fire that carried her through more than two decades of dominance has also come with something she knows all too well: injury setbacks. And on Thursday, Williams revealed that her marathon journey has hit a familiar snag.

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“So, I don’t know what’s happened to me lately. I’ve been so lazy, and I was training earlier this year for a half-marathon, and it didn’t go so well. I mean, it was going good, then I got injured. I sustained an injury in my leg,” she told her followers on Instagram.

Her tone was light, but the situation struck a chord with longtime fans who remember the defining battles she fought with her body during her career.

Few athletes have endured and overcome as many physical challenges as Williams. In 2010 she suffered one of her most serious injuries after stepping on broken glass, damaging tendons in her foot and undergoing two surgeries.

The ordeal sidelined her for nearly a year. Another moment etched in memory came at Wimbledon in 2021, when she was forced to leave the court in tears after a hamstring injury abruptly ended her match. Many observers believed that moment was the beginning of her final steps as a professional player.

Returning to training with an ambitious deadline ahead

This latest setback may not be as dramatic, but Williams made it clear that returning to form has not been simple.

“That was four months ago, maybe five, and I haven’t really done cardio since,” she admitted. Still, she has not abandoned the goal. “So, I’m back at it. The half-marathon I wanted to do is in February; I think I can still make it. I just got to get serious. The only thing I’m really good at, like, focus on is tennis.”

It was a moment of honesty that landed somewhere between frustration and self-awareness. Fans who watched her fight through pain, pregnancy, and pressure across twenty years of professional tennis know her discipline is unmatched.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, trained relentlessly through career defining injuries, and transformed her body throughout a major post-career weight loss journey. Few athletes in history embody resilience the way Williams does.