WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Yanking off a sneaker with pink accents and purple laces, Serena Williams revealed the scar that starts atop her right foot and meanders up her leg.
It's a jagged, several-inch remnant — and
always-there reminder — of two operations to repair the damage Williams did
when cut by glass while leaving a German restaurant last July, just days after
winning Wimbledon. That was the first in a series of health scares that wound
up sidelining her for about 11 months.
"To this day, I don't know" exactly how
the injury happened, Williams said Sunday, on the eve of this year's tournament
at the All England Club. "Something must have fallen."
"It's, like, the biggest mystery next to the
Loch Ness Monster. I've never been able to figure it out," she added.
"I just remember standing up the whole time, thinking, 'Ohhhhh, that
really hurts.'"
A request to see the scar came at the end of a
question-and-answer session with a small group of reporters, and Williams
hardly hesitated. After showing her right foot, she pulled off her other shoe
and pointed to a smaller scar on the inside of her left foot, which also was
sliced at the restaurant.
"I was, like, 'Be careful. There's glass,
there's glass. Be careful,'" she recounted. "I'm, like, protecting
everyone else. And then I looked down and, like, literally, there's this
massive puddle of blood."
She wound up playing in an exhibition match against
Kim Clijsters in Belgium later that week. But Williams had trouble with her
right big toe and eventually had surgery twice on that foot, which she
protected for 10 weeks with a cast, followed by 10 weeks in a walking boot.
Then, early this year, she was treated for blood clots in her lungs and began
taking blood thinners.
At the end of February, she returned to the
hospital for another procedure, which she called the "low point" —
removing a hematoma, a large gathering of blood under the skin on her stomach.
It wasn't until about a month ago that she was able
to start practicing at full force, and she's only played two matches heading
into Wimbledon, not exactly ideal preparation as the grass-court Grand Slam
gets started Monday.
But she is relieved simply to be back.
"I thought, 'I don't even know if I'll be able
to play again.' And then there was a time where it was like, 'Tennis doesn't
even matter; I just want to get healthy,'" Williams said. "Then came
a point where I thought, 'OK, I can definitely play again. I just have to have
patience.'"
She's scheduled to face 61st-ranked Aravane Rezai
of France on Tuesday in what will be Williams' first Grand Slam match in 50
weeks. Among those on Monday's schedule: Williams' older sister, five-time
Wimbledon champion Venus; defending champion Rafael Nadal; three-time major
runner-up Andy Murray.
While at least one British bookmaker made the
younger Williams the favorite to win what would be her fifth Wimbledon title —
and 14th Grand Slam singles championship — she isn't putting any of that sort
of pressure on herself.
At least not publicly.
"This is definitely a stepping stone,"
said Williams, who is 25th in Monday's WTA rankings but is seeded No. 7,
because of her past success. "To be competing again is great. It
definitely is one step in my journey. And I always say life's a journey, not a
destination, and I'm not going to reach my destination today or tomorrow. But
this is just a step for the rest of my career."
The 29-year-old American often has found time to
pursue her other interests, including fashion design and acting, but now she
has a fresh appreciation for her sport.
"I've always known that I love tennis and I
really enjoy it but ... I never thought I would miss it as much as I did,"
she said. "I always said I've had other jobs but this one's my main job.
But it just takes a whole new meaning now."
Williams said she was given a doctor's all clear
after a scan of her lungs showed no clots about 2½ months ago — "Or
else," she noted, "I wouldn't be here" — and she stopped taking
blood thinners regularly about three weeks ago.
But she still needs to inject herself with blood
thinners before taking long flights, such as her recent trip from the United
States to Europe.
Williams' mother, Oracene Price, kept checking in
to make sure she took the medication.
"She's been really worried," Williams
said. "And she's been calling me a lot. Just like, 'If you have any pain
or you feel you can't breathe, come off the court.' I'm like, 'OK. I'll be
OK.'"
Williams, as intense a competitor as her sport
knows, was asked whether she really would heed Mom's advice and stop during a
match if she didn't feel well.
"Nah," came the reply. "I'd have a
heart attack first."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/AELTC,Tom Lovelock,Pool)
