Venus Williams reveals her battles with ill health which affected her career

Tennis icon Venus Williams described the process of not knowing what was happening with her to learning that she had Sjogren's syndrome as "a head trip" but vows to fans to keep going just like she did over a decade ago when she was diagnosed with an auto-immune condition.

For several years, the seven-time Grand Slam champion was dealing with tiredness and exhaustion, as well as dry mouth and eyes. While some of that stuff is not uncommon for athletes - especially for someone like the American who was competing at the highest possible level - she just had a feeling that something was off. And in 2011 at the age of 31, she was diagnosed with Sjogren's disease - a condition that happens after the parts of the body that produce fluids are damaged.

After the diagnosis, Williams spent some time away from tennis to address her health and figure out a plan for how to continue her career while still managing her medical condition. For the former world No. 1, learning that she was battling an autoimmune disease wasn't the best possible outcome but at least she finally knew what was causing her troubles and was mentally at peace because she didn't have to break her head anymore thinking about why she didn't feel her best.

"I had all kinds of symptoms, but that was very challenging as an athlete. When you crash, you go so hard that you can’t get up, literally. But I still got up, because I had to. Lying in bed is not fun. There is no substitute for being well. I had to change my pace. It took seven years before I was diagnosed. It was a head trip. I wasn’t reaching my full potential, and I didn’t know why. Was I working too hard? What was I doing wrong? That takes its toll and it’s not easy to walk out there when you don’t have much to give," the 44-year-old told Harper's Bazaar magazine.

Two years ago, the five-time Wimbledon winner addressed battling Sjogren's disease in a blog uploaded on her YouTube channel.

The former world No. 1 was very honest about her own experience, revealing that it was almost impossible for her to wear contact lenses because of her dry eyes.

"Everyone's life is affected in different ways with autoimmune diseases. For me, it affected my work and my profession. I wasn't able to play tennis anymore, and I was out of the game for maybe nine months," Williams said at the time.

"Those extra special friends that come along with it are dry eyes and dry mouth. It's very difficult for me to wear contact lenses. My eyes are just too dry to wear those. It can be very uncomfortable to the point where you would get mouth sores so as you can see an extreme level of Sjogren's Syndrome or extreme flare-up, or extreme symptoms can start to affect your life."

Over the last couple of years, the 44-year-old dealt with multiple injuries and that forced her to miss significant time on a couple of occasions. When it specifically comes to this year, the seven-time Major champion has made only two appearances so far - she played as a wildcard at the WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami earlier this year - both times lost in the first round.

The former world No. 1 may not have taken part in any official events in half a year but she is still on the practice court because she believes being active and staying in the game can help her remain younger.

"I have never neared a burnout, although last week I said I needed a permanent vacation! But I was going too hard for a few months with my schedule. That was my decision. We don’t always have a choice, but periods of rest are so important. I do weights, and I swim in an Olympic-size public pool near my home surrounded by pines in Florida," Williams said in the same interview with Harper's Bazaar.

"I’m still training, not every day like before but I’ll always need to be on court. It’s a wonderful way to stay fit, burn calories and have great legs and arms! If you want to look good, play tennis. It doesn’t look like work but it’s exhausting."

It remains to be seen if Williams will sign up to play in any tournaments for the rest of the season or maybe try to play again at the start of the 2025 season.