Given the fact that she hadn’t played since winning Wimbledon last year, few were surprised to see Serena Williams drop the first set of her match against Tsvetana Pironkova in just 28 minutes at the Aegon International in Eastbourne. What was surprising was how quickly she turned the match around, handing Pironkova — the No. 34-ranked Bulgarian who ended her sister Venus’ run last year in the quarters at the All-England Club — a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat.
It’s a miracle that the 13-time Slam champ is back on the court at all. As Williams told reporters, “I was on my death bed at one point — quite literally.”
The former No. 1 ended a 49-week layoff that came as a result of a freak foot injury and a pulmonary embolism.
“At first I didn't appreciate that it was serious,” said Williams. “People said it would be fine, it would be all right, but it turned out to be a lot more serious…I've had some serious health problems and I was literally on my deathbed at one point in my career or my life. This is like a totally different road where I'm more or less thinking, ‘Okay, I have nothing else to lose at this point.’ If it had been left two days later it could have been career-ending, or even worse. They told me I had several blood clots in both lungs. A lot of people die from that. ”
“It got to the stage where it felt like I could hardly breathe,” the 29-year-old revealed. “Some days I didn't get out of bed at all. I just laid on the couch thinking, 'Why has this happened to me?'…The second surgery was tough, more mentally tough than a lot of things I've been through — including my sister [Yetunde Price] dying. It's why this is a comeback that's totally different from any other comeback.”
“This has given me a whole new perspective on life and my career — and I’m not talking anything for granted. I'm just taking one day at a time. I'm not preparing for today or for Wimbledon. I'm preparing for the rest of my career.”
Williams also revisited the much-discussed incident in a Munich restaurant that eventually led to two surgeries on her foot. William insists she’s still not sure exactly what happened.
“To this day I don't know,” she said. “I was at this restaurant-bar-ry [sic] kind of restaurant thing. I was with my nephew at the time and my hitting partner. We were literally leaving and I was walking, and then I felt something. I was like, 'Uh, guys, be careful. I think there's glass on the floor.' I just stepped back and I was like, ‘Oh, that really hurts.' So then I'm just thinking, 'Okay, I'm tough. I'm just going to keep walking.' I took another step. And I was like, 'Oh, my God. There's definitely glass on the floor. Please be careful.' And so then my coach, he took his phone, he looked down and there's like this massive puddle of blood. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh.' They rushed me back. I ended up fainting because I lost so much blood because I was standing up. I ended up having to get stitches in both feet. One was on top and one was on the bottom of my other foot. I guess it sliced right through my ligament. I didn't know at the time that my ligament was torn. I just know that my toe was hanging low.”
