Serena Williams in Paris on July 25.Julien De Rosa / AFP - Getty Images file
The tennis legend said that after some testing and a biopsy, doctors told her to remove the branchial cyst on her neck, as “it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected.”
Tennis great Serena Williams said she had a grapefruit-size cyst removed from her neck and she’s on her recovery journey.
Williams revealed in a TikTok video Tuesday that she found a lump on her neck back in May.
“I immediately went to the doc got a MRI and was told I have a brachial cyst,” she wrote in the caption.
Branchial cleft cysts are small sacs filled with fluid that look like lumps under the skin on the side of the neck, according to the Cleveland Clinic. They can appear at any age, though they are most often found in children. Though they are typically benign, meaning noncancerous, doctors may recommend surgery to remove them.
Williams, 43, said she was “mortified” by the lump. She said the doctors initially said she didn’t need to get it removed. But it kept growing, and she underwent more testing and a biopsy.
Doctors found the cyst was “still negative,” but this time they advised her to remove it, as “it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected or worse, leak,” she wrote in her caption.
In the video, Williams recorded herself showing scarring on her neck as she sat in her hospital bed.
“It kind of hurt coming out. Obviously I went under for it, but they had to put a drain in it because it was so much,” she said in the video. “But everything worked out, and I feel really happy to have worked with some great doctors.”
Williams recorded herself after the operation with a bandage visible on her neck and wearing a mask. The video ended on a lighthearted note with her at an American Girl doll store with her daughter Olympia.
“Mommy is suffering, but Mom has to keep showing up,” she joked in the video.
In her caption, she concluded: “I am feeling so grateful and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I’m healthy.”
She shared the video on X, writing: “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.”
Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, responded: “You’re such a fighter. And such a great mama.”
The couple have two daughters together, Olympia and Adira.
