Serena Williams gives worrying health update after major surgery

Serena Williams gave fans a much-needed health update on Wednesday after doctors discovered a large cyst on her neck.

The tennis legend posted to social media from her hospital bed, confirming that “all was okay” despite undergoing a procedure to remove the growth.

Serena said in the TikTok video that she had a benign branchial cyst “the size of a small grapefruit” cut out of her neck after it was found in May thanks to an MRI. 

“They said I don’t need to get it removed if I don’t want,” she explained. “So I did not get it [removed], but it kept growing.”

“I decided to get more tests, and three tests and one biopsy later, everything is still negative, but doctors advised I get it removed ASAP because it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected, or worse leak.“ 

She continued: “So this is me removing it. I am feeling so grateful and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all, I’m healthy. I still made it to American Doll with Olympia as promised.”

The 43-year-old followed up on X by lamenting the events she missed while going under the knife. “So many things I missed like @glamourmag Woman of the Year awards, @RafaelNadal retirement and I am still recovering, but getting better. Health always comes first,“ she wrote.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner officially retired from tennis in 2022 after the US Open and has since turned her eye towards raising her young family.

Serena has two children, Alexis and Adira, with Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.

The couple debuted their youngest daughter, born in August 2023, with her own Instagram account on Monday, captioning her very first post, “Oh hello there- I know it’s been over a year, but I’m just getting used to this.“ 

The carousel of photos featured adorable pictures of the youngest Ohanian around their house. 

Her doting dad revealed to People this year that the two sisters have a strong and special bond thanks to their six-year age difference. 

“It’s a big age gap, and Olympia has a little bit of that maternal spirit,“ he told the publication. “She’s like, ‘This is my baby’, and it’s great to see them together.“ 

“They play and wrestle and all that,“ he continued. “We’re very lucky because Adira’s got a great personality, and Olympia does too, plus she’s so excited to be a big sis.”

“So seeing the two of them interact with each other has been a special kind of fun. Adira’s getting more mobile and more vocal, and it’s only going to get even more fun.“

Serena told People that becoming a mother changed her entire perspective on success. “I’ve been so focused on my career my whole life, but when I had a family and got married, I realized that there’s so much more to life. And that was great,“ she said. 

Here’s hoping the tennis star’s girls will follow in her famous footsteps!