Venus Williams has faced serves traveling faster than many cars, competed under stadium lights with millions watching, and built one of the most celebrated careers in tennis. Yet one of her longest and most exhausting battles happened away from the scoreboard.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion has revealed that she lived with severe uterine fibroid symptoms for nearly three decades. Her experiences included debilitating menstrual pain, heavy bleeding, nausea, fatigue, and anemia. Despite the intensity of those symptoms, Williams said she was repeatedly told that what she was experiencing was normal.
Her story is not simply a celebrity health headline. It illustrates how painful periods and abnormal bleeding can be minimized, how fibroids disproportionately affect Black women, and why patients deserve clear explanations of every reasonable treatment optionnot a shrug, a vague promise to “keep watching,” and directions to the nearest pharmacy aisle.
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Venus Williams’s Decades-Long Fibroid Journey
Williams recalled experiencing extreme menstrual pain as early as her teenage years. During her first French Open in 1997, when she was 16, she became sick before a match and found herself clinging to a toilet while waiting for the pain to pass. Spectators saw a rising tennis star performing under pressure. They did not see the medical crisis unfolding backstage.
The problems continued as her career advanced. Her periods could bring intense cramping, nausea, heavy menstrual bleeding, and overwhelming exhaustion. She traveled with pain medication and packed extra menstrual products, underwear, and clothing because bleeding accidents could happen without warning.
A Frightening Turning Point at Wimbledon
During Wimbledon in 2016, Williams said the pain became so severe that she ended up on the locker-room floor, unable to move normally. Her sister, Serena Williams, arranged for a doctor to help her. After receiving medication, Venus was able to return to the court, but the incident made it obvious that this was not ordinary discomfort.
Williams eventually received confirmation that she had fibroids. However, she said she was not given a clear explanation connecting those growths to her bleeding, pelvic pain, fatigue, and anemia. Her doctors continued monitoring the fibroids, while the principal treatment presented to her was a hysterectomythe surgical removal of the uterus.
Because she did not want that option, she continued living with the symptoms. “Watchful waiting” may be appropriate when fibroids cause no symptoms or only mild inconvenience. It is far less reassuring when waiting means regularly collapsing, vomiting, bleeding through clothing, or planning your life around prescription pain medication.
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Finding a Doctor Who Connected the Symptoms
In 2024, Williams began searching more aggressively for alternatives. She eventually met Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, director of NYU Langone Health’s Center for Fibroid Care. The difference was not merely that a specialist recognized the fibroids. Williams finally received an explanation of how her symptoms, imaging findings, reproductive goals, and quality of life fit together.
Further evaluation also identified an adenomyoma, a localized form of adenomyosis in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows within the muscular wall of the uterus. Adenomyosis can also cause painful periods, heavy bleeding, pelvic pressure, and an enlarged uterus. Having more than one uterine condition may make symptoms and treatment decisions considerably more complicated.
Uterine-Sparing Surgery Brought Relief
After discussing multiple approaches, Williams chose uterine-sparing surgery. The procedure, performed in July 2024, removed the problematic growths while leaving her uterus intact. She reported that the surgery was successful and that she returned to feeling like herself during recoverywithout the relentless pain and excessive bleeding that had followed her for decades.
Her experience highlights an essential principle of fibroid care: treatment should be individualized. The best choice depends on the number, size, and location of the fibroids, the severity of symptoms, other health conditions, previous treatments, and whether the patient wants to preserve the uterus or pursue pregnancy.
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What Are Uterine Fibroids?
Uterine fibroids, also called leiomyomas or myomas, are growths made from muscle and connective tissue that develop in or around the uterus. They are almost always benign, meaning they are not cancer. A person may have one fibroid or many, and their size can range from nearly microscopic to large enough to change the shape of the uterus or abdomen.
Fibroids can grow within the uterine wall, beneath the inner uterine lining, along the outer surface, or on a stalk attached to the uterus. Their location often matters as much as their size. A relatively small fibroid pushing into the uterine cavity may cause substantial bleeding, while a larger growth elsewhere may create pressure without changing menstrual flow.
Fibroids are extremely common during the reproductive years. Many people never know they have them because the growths cause no symptoms. For others, however, fibroids can disrupt work, exercise, sleep, sexual health, travel, fertility, and everyday routines.
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Fibroid Symptoms That Should Not Be Automatically Dismissed
Menstrual experiences vary, and an uncomfortable period does not always signal a medical condition. Still, severe or worsening symptoms deserve evaluation. “Periods can hurt” should not become a medical escape hatch through which every concerning symptom disappears.
Common Symptoms of Uterine Fibroids
- Heavy or prolonged menstrual bleeding
- Bleeding between periods
- Severe menstrual cramps or persistent pelvic pain
- Pelvic pressure, fullness, or abdominal enlargement
- Frequent urination or difficulty emptying the bladder
- Constipation or pressure on the rectum
- Lower-back pain
- Pain during sex
- Fatigue, weakness, dizziness, or shortness of breath related to anemia
- Difficulty becoming pregnant or certain pregnancy complications
Heavy bleeding is especially important because repeated blood loss can cause iron-deficiency anemia. A person may blame poor sleep, stress, work, parenting, or a demanding training schedule for constant exhaustion when the real problem is that the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen efficiently.
In Williams’s case, elite athletic conditioning did not protect her from anemia or make the pain less real. In fact, her ability to keep performing may have made the severity easier for outsiders to underestimate. Being productive while suffering does not mean the suffering is minor. It sometimes means the person has become exceptionally skilled at hiding it.
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Why Fibroid Symptoms May Be Dismissed
Severe Period Pain Is Often Normalized
People are frequently taught that menstrual pain is something to tolerate quietly. As a result, they may wait years before asking for help. When they finally seek care, a clinician may also interpret the symptoms as routineparticularly when the patient has been coping with them for a long time.
That creates a frustrating loop: The patient minimizes the symptoms because everyone says periods are unpleasant, and the medical professional minimizes them because the patient has somehow continued functioning. Meanwhile, the fibroids continue operating like tenants who have stopped paying rent but refuse to leave.
Symptoms Overlap With Other Conditions
Heavy bleeding and pelvic pain may also occur with adenomyosis, endometriosis, uterine polyps, hormonal disorders, pregnancy-related complications, bleeding disorders, or other gynecologic conditions. A careful history and appropriate testing are necessary because symptoms alone cannot always identify the cause.
Black Women Carry a Disproportionate Burden
Research consistently shows that Black women tend to develop fibroids at younger ages and may experience more numerous fibroids, larger growths, and more severe symptoms than White women. They may also face delays in diagnosis, unequal access to specialists, limited counseling about uterus-preserving treatment, and understandable distrust rooted in personal experiences and the history of racial discrimination in American medicine.
Williams’s fame, wealth, and access did not guarantee that her symptoms would be connected to an effective treatment plan. That is a sobering point. If a globally recognized athlete can spend decades searching for answers, patients with fewer resources may face even steeper barriers.
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How Uterine Fibroids Are Diagnosed
Evaluation generally begins with a detailed discussion of symptoms and medical history. A clinician may ask about the length and heaviness of periods, bleeding between periods, pain patterns, pregnancy plans, urinary or bowel symptoms, and whether similar problems occur in close relatives.
A pelvic examination may suggest that the uterus is enlarged or irregularly shaped. Imaging is then commonly used to confirm the diagnosis and determine where the fibroids are located.
Tests May Include
- Pelvic ultrasound: Uses sound waves to create images of the uterus and surrounding organs.
- Magnetic resonance imaging: Produces detailed images that can help map the number, size, and position of fibroids.
- Hysteroscopy: Uses a thin camera to examine the inside of the uterus.
- Sonohysterography: Uses sterile fluid and ultrasound to provide a clearer view of the uterine cavity.
- Blood tests: A complete blood count and iron testing can identify anemia associated with heavy bleeding.
Testing should answer more than “Are fibroids present?” A useful evaluation should also determine whether those fibroids plausibly explain the symptoms and whether another condition, such as adenomyosis, may be contributing.
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Fibroid Treatment Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Some fibroids require no treatment. When symptoms are mild, periodic monitoring may be reasonable. When bleeding, anemia, pain, bladder pressure, bowel problems, infertility, or reduced quality of life become significant, patients should be offered a fuller discussion of medical and procedural options.
Medication and Symptom Management
Depending on the individual, clinicians may recommend pain relievers, hormonal birth control, a hormone-releasing intrauterine device, tranexamic acid for heavy bleeding, or medicines that affect gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Iron supplementation may be needed when chronic blood loss causes iron deficiency.
Medication can control symptoms or temporarily shrink fibroids, but it may not permanently remove them. Benefits, side effects, treatment duration, fertility goals, and other medical risks should be reviewed with a qualified clinician.
Procedures and Surgery
A myomectomy removes fibroids while preserving the uterus. Depending on the location and size of the growths, it may be performed through the vagina and cervix, through small abdominal incisions, with robotic assistance, or through open abdominal surgery.
Uterine artery embolization blocks blood flow to fibroids so they shrink. Radiofrequency ablation uses controlled heat to destroy fibroid tissue. MRI-guided focused ultrasound is another option available to selected patients. The effects of certain procedures on future pregnancy must be discussed carefully.
A hysterectomy removes the uterus and permanently prevents fibroids from returning, but it is major surgery and eliminates the possibility of carrying a pregnancy. It may be appropriate or preferred in some circumstances, but Williams’s experience shows why it should not be presented as though it were the only sentence in the entire treatment menu.
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How to Advocate for Yourself When Symptoms Are Minimized
Self-advocacy does not require marching into an appointment with a medical textbook under one arm and a courtroom soundtrack playing in the background. It means communicating clearly, asking direct questions, and seeking another opinion when the explanation does not match the severity of your experience.
Document What Is Happening
Track bleeding days, pain severity, medications used, missed work or school, nighttime symptoms, urinary changes, bowel pressure, and bleeding accidents. Specific information is harder to wave away than “My periods seem bad.”
Explain the Effect on Daily Life
Tell the clinician whether symptoms prevent exercise, interrupt sleep, require clothing changes, cause missed commitments, or make you afraid to leave home. Quality of life is clinically relevant information, not dramatic decoration.
Ask for the Reasoning
Useful questions include: What could be causing these symptoms? Could the fibroids explain them? Do I need blood testing for anemia? What imaging is appropriate? What options preserve my uterus? What are the benefits, limitations, and recovery times for each treatment?
Seek a Second Opinion
A second opinion is especially reasonable when symptoms are severe, the diagnosis remains unclear, the only option offered is hysterectomy, or fertility and uterine preservation are important. A minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, fibroid specialist, reproductive endocrinologist, or interventional radiologist may provide additional perspectives.
Experiences Behind the Diagnosis: What Williams’s Story Reveals
The physical symptoms of fibroids are only part of the experience. Heavy menstrual bleeding can quietly reorganize an entire life. A person may select clothing based on whether a stain will show, identify every restroom immediately after entering a building, or avoid long meetings because leaving abruptly feels embarrassing. A simple dinner invitation can require enough backup supplies to resemble preparation for a minor expedition.
There is also the constant mental calculation. How far is the bathroom? Is there somewhere private to change? Will the pain medication work before the commute? Can a work presentation be rescheduled? Is the fatigue ordinary tiredness, or is anemia making every staircase feel like a mountain stage in the Tour de France?
For athletes, dancers, nurses, teachers, service workers, and anyone whose job requires prolonged standing or limited bathroom access, symptoms may become particularly difficult to manage. Williams’s experience on the tennis court provides a highly visible example, but the same struggle can happen in an office cubicle, classroom, warehouse, hospital corridor, or grocery checkout lane.
The Emotional Cost of Being Told It Is Normal
Repeated dismissal can change how a person interprets their own body. Patients may begin wondering whether they are weak, overly sensitive, or simply bad at handling periods. Some stop raising the issue because previous appointments produced no meaningful plan. Others assume that pain severe enough to cause vomiting or immobility is merely the price of having a menstrual cycle.
This erosion of self-trust can be as damaging as the inconvenience. A patient should not need celebrity-level confidence to say, “This is interfering with my life, and I need a better explanation.” Williams’s eventual relief reinforces that symptoms can be both common and treatable. Common does not mean harmless, and it certainly does not mean imaginary.
The Relief of Finally Being Believed
Many people describe a mixture of relief and anger when they finally receive a complete diagnosis. Relief comes from learning that the pain has a name and potential treatment. Anger may follow because the answer seems as though it should have arrived years earlier.
A productive clinical relationship changes the conversation from “Can you tolerate this?” to “What outcome matters to you?” One patient may prioritize reducing bleeding. Another may want to preserve fertility. Someone approaching menopause may prefer temporary symptom control, while another may want definitive surgery. The correct plan is the one developed through informed decision-making, not the one selected because no alternatives were explained.
Recovery Can Create a New Normal
After effective treatment, everyday activities may feel unexpectedly liberating. Traveling without an emergency clothing kit, sleeping through the night, exercising without fear, and making plans without consulting a menstrual calendar can all represent meaningful recovery.
Williams’s account is powerful because it does not end with endurance. For years, endurance was treated as the solution. Eventually, she found care that focused on diagnosis, options, and quality of life. Her experience invites other patients to replace the question “How much longer can I put up with this?” with a more useful one: “What would it take for me to feel well?”
Conclusion
Venus Williams’s fibroid journey demonstrates that even severe symptoms can be normalized when menstrual pain and heavy bleeding are not investigated thoroughly. Her story also shows that a diagnosis alone is not enough. Patients need to understand whether fibroids are causing their symptoms, what other conditions may be present, and which treatments align with their health and reproductive goals.
Fibroids are common, but suffering in silence should not be. Persistent pelvic pain, excessive bleeding, anemia symptoms, bladder pressure, or major disruption to daily life deserves medical attention. A person who feels unheard has every right to request more testing, ask for a detailed explanation, and obtain another opinion.
Williams spent decades proving that she could play through pain. The more important victory may have been discovering that she no longer had to.
