Black Tennis Pros

EASTBOURNE, United Kingdom — Playing for the first time in nearly a year, Serena Williams overcame a slow start to reach the Eastbourne second round on Tuesday by beating Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The 13-time Grand Slam champion, whose last match was her victory in the Wimbledon final last July, returned to the court at the grass warm-up tournament after battling a foot injury and blood clots in her lungs.

"It wasn't an easy match but more than anything, I wanted to win," said Williams.

"She's an unbelievable player and beat (Serena's sister) Venus (Williams) at Wimbledon last year. When I saw the draw I thought 'Oh my god.'

"I'm a little rusty but I enjoy being back on the grass."

Top seed Vera Zvonareva defeated British wild card Heather Watson 6-3, 6-3 and will next play Williams in a repeat of last summer's Wimbledon final.

The Williams win was the second success for the family this week, after sister Venus advanced here on Monday after not playing for almost five months due to an abdominal injury.

"I could have done a lot of things better, but that's expected. I'll continue to try to do the things that I need to do," said Serena.

Williams said that her mental approach to the game still needs some work after her long absence.

"It's not as strong as it was when I left, but I'm hoping it will get better with every day and every match," she said.

"I definitely think I was nervous. I think I was even more anxious, more than anything, but there was no need for me to be anxious."

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In her first interview since suffering a pulmonary embolism, Serena Williams spoke with Matt Lauer on Today

"Every day is better and better. I'm not doing much. I really haven't left the house recently."

She recalled that on Feb. 18, she "had a lot of swelling in my leg, which really is a tell-tale sign of an embolism, and I could not breathe." She just thought she "wasn't fit," but went to the emergency room.

Doctors at first,couldn't find anything, she said. But then one ordered a CAT scan of her lungs. "That's when they found several blood clots. They told me they had to check me in immediately or it wasn't going to be a good result."

A week later, she walked the red carpets at Oscar parties. "I had been through so much. I really was kind of low on energy," she said, but wanted to "do something to get my spirits up. I wasn't doing so well mentally. ... I was feeling terrible." So she went out. And wound up in the hospital the next day, Feb. 28, because of a large hematoma in her stomach. A hematoma is a gathering of blood underneath the skin, Lauer explained.

"I'm on blood thinner injections. I inject myself twice a day," she said. "I apparently must have hit something, ... so what started out as a golf ball ended up being the size of a grapefruit." At the hospital she was told it couldn't be drained; it had to be surgically removed.

Did this all stem from her initial foot problem after stepping on glass last year? She said, "Yes, and not moving and doing as much as I normally do and flying back and forth a lot."

What are doctors telling her now? "I'm just taking it one day at a time. My lungs are fairly healthy and I'm on the road to recovering." She said she's still hoping to return to tennis this summer. "I want to come back and be able to do well."

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As she recuperates at home, Serena has not forgotten about all those who have made their concern for her known. Today she posted the following message on her website, Serena Williams:

Hey Loves!

I am overwhelmed, and teary eyed by all the love and support from everyone. I am so blessed to have caring love from everyone. I love each and everyone of you! I am getting better each day. And I will continue to go forward with healing.

Thanks for the support , Prayers, and love.

I love you

Xxx

Serena

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Los Angeles - Tennis star Serena Williams is recuperating at home after suffering an embolism and an additional 'unexpected scare' with a hematoma, according to a spokeswoman. Williams says, 'This has been extremely hard, scary, and disappointing.'

The return to the Grand Slam stage by Serena Williams, who hasn't played in a tennis tournament since winning her fourth Wimbledon last July, will take much longer now after the 29-year-old star underwent emergency medical treatment in Los Angeles this week, less than 10 days after doctors had hospitalized her for a blood clot in her lungs.

It was not immediately known what triggered Monday's treatment of a hematoma -- an area of bleeding -- at Cedars-Sinai, something first reported Wednesday morning by People magazine. She is now recuperating at home.

Late Wednesday, however, it was learned that Williams also had been hospitalized 10 days ago for a pulmonary embolism, or blood clot.

"She was first hospitalized for two days, Feb. 19 and 20," Jill Smoller, Williams' longtime publicist, told The Times. "She'd just gotten to Los Angeles." Williams owns homes in Florida and Los Angeles.

That hospital stay coincided with a tweet by Williams on Feb. 19 in which she said, "My day could not get any worse."

Williams' career, which includes 13 Grand Slam titles, is now on hold indefinitely.

Last week, she told the New York Post that she expected to return to the game in time for the French Open in May. Now she has to hope she can be well enough in time for Wimbledon, which begins June 20.

A statement released Wednesday afternoon by a Williams spokesperson said, "Serena did indeed suffer from a pulmonary embolism last week, and the hematoma was another unexpected scare. Thankfully everything was caught in time. With continued doctor visits to monitor her situation, she is recuperating at home under strict medical supervision.

"Says Serena, 'Thank you everyone for all of your prayers, concerns, and support. This has been extremely hard, scary, and disappointing. I am doing better, I'm at home now and working with my doctors to keep everything under control. I know I will be OK, but am praying and hoping this will all be behind me soon. While I can't make any promises now on my return, I hope to be back by early summer. That said, my main goal is to make sure I get there safely.'"

Williams has been out of action since shortly after Wimbledon when she cut tendons in her right foot in an accident that she said was caused by stepping on broken glass at a restaurant. That required two foot surgeries and until last week she wore a walking boot to restrict movement.

In fact, it was only late last week that Williams was told she would no longer need the boot. On Sunday she wore high heels to Oscar parties.

It is possible that clotting around her foot injury contributed to the embolism, said Dr. Ralph Brindis, president of the American College of Cardiology.

A pulmonary embolism usually originates in a vein in the leg, breaks loose and travels to the lung. Typically, a person develops a pulmonary embolism when he or she has risk factors -- these can include pregnancy, use of oral contraceptives, smoking, clotting disorders or obesity -- and then remains sedentary for a period of time, allowing blood to stagnate in the leg and form a clot. People who take long airplane trips are at particular risk.

Typically, doctors administer anticoagulant drugs such as Coumadin to prevent additional clotting. Williams may be on such medications for several months, doctors said.

In some cases, large emboli are also initially treated with clot-dissolving agents. Brindis said that such agents can cause bleeding, which could explain the hematoma.

Dr. Mark Adelman, chief of vascular and endovascular surgery at New York University's Langone Medical Center, said that Williams' lungs should heal completely. He estimated that for anywhere from six to 12 weeks her doctors would not want her to play tennis at all. After that, Williams might be able to play at a high level, but because the anticoagulants will put her at additional risk of bruises and bleeding, she'll want to avoid getting hit hard during play.

We will be in prayer for Serena and wish her a speedy recovery.

(Read full article at L.A. Times)

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