The grand slam winner was in immense pain
While her Wimbledon days are far behind her, Venus Williams, 45, is still a tennis champion. But, in a recent interview, the grand slam winner revealed her career came with more pain than she let on.
In an interview with TODAY, Venus shared that every month, she experienced excruciating symptoms with her periods. She remembered herself, “hugging the toilet, waiting for this to pass.”
Her doctors assured her that her symptoms were normal. But she couldn’t see why.
It just got too bad, and I couldn’t handle it,” Venus explained. Finally, she was diagnosed with having fibroids that were large enough to cause intense pain, nausea, and persistent anemia. While she suffered, she had a community around her to support.
While training for Wimbledon in 2016, Venus recalled, “lying on the floor in the locker room” waiting for it to pass. Her sister, fellow tennis champion Serena Williams was there, called a doctor, and they went on to win the doubles final.
For going public with this diagnosis, Venus has the support of her boyfriend, Andrea Preti, 37. Venus was first linked with Andrea in July 2024. Six months later, she was seen wearing a diamond ring while she snuggled with him.
Venus was spotted a few days after playing tennis while wearing the ring, with Andrea watching from the stands.
The grand slam winner likes to live her life privately and hasn’t shared much about Andrea. But here’s what we know.
Andrea was born in Denmark before moving to Italy with his family. He’s an actor who’s starred in One More Day, an Italian television series, A Professor, and was even a contestant on the Italian reality show La Talpa.
Before she started dating Andrea, Venus explained to Glamour UK that she was embracing her life as a single woman, but also felt she was getting too comfortable.
“I think it’s really easy to get stuck in a single life and sometimes – at least for me – harder to get out of a single life,” she said, explaining that she’s been single “for a long time.”
Venus’ famous family
Venus’ sister, Serena, married the founder of Reddit, Alexis Ohanian in 2017. Venus was in the wedding and wore a custom Galia Lahav bridesmaid dress. Serena also became a mom in 2017.
She gave birth to Olympia on September 1. Two years ago, she and Alexis welcomed Adira. Venus loves being an aunt to the two girls.
During an appearance on Jenna and Friends, Venus told Jenna Bush Hager that she’s “the fun aunt.” She continued: “I’m the aunt who has to run the whole time. [The girls] love to play tag, so I have to run the whole time [I’m there].”