Venus Williams is without a question one of the greatest athletes in the sport. The American has some of the biggest records and accolades to her name, that remain untouched to date. In a close to 3 decades-long career, the legendary player has seen several trials, personally as well as professionally.
One such incident took place in 2012. Recently, while recalling the most personal wins of her gracious career, Venus recalled her 2012 Luxembourg Open win. As per Venus, the win continues to have a special place in her heart.
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What is so special about Venus’s 2012 Luxembourg win?
Showing the broken trophy, Williams confessed, “This one is a different story of win.”
In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Sjögren’s syndrome. A syndrome, in which one feels swollen joints, fatigue, and eye and mouth dryness. Following the diagnosis, the 7-time Grand Slam champion had to work with a rheumatologist and make some lifestyle changes to make a comeback on the court.
Even though she played several tournaments prior to the Luxembourg Open, her best result came in as a quarterfinalist in those tournaments.
Recalling the time and the win, Venus showed the trophy and said, “Everything is going wrong. You don’t really you if you are gonna make it but you have to keep going and put your best foot forward. This is the trophy for my first tournament coming back from autoimmune disease. This is the 2012 Luxembourg Open. Really cool. Really abstract. It’s very heavy.”
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How did Venus Williams feel entering the tournament?
Prior to the Luxembourg Open, Williams had played a couple of other tournaments, lastly the US Open. However, even after multiple attempts, she had been failing to perform up to the mark. Recalling her win, Williams admitted, “This is my first tournament win coming back from autoimmune disease. I went to the tournament, it’s scary. It was scary. I don’t know how much I could give.”
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Watch this story-The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis
Williams is known for her giving it all attitude since the start of her career. No matter what the score is, Williams has never failed in trying to give her all in order to win. A similar thing took place at the Luxembourg Open. Prior to competing in Luxemburg in October, Williams last played at the US Open in August 2012. Entering the court after more than a month, it was as difficult for Venus as for any other player.
Recently while talking about playing the tournament, Venus confessed, “I didn’t feel well still. I still decided to play tennis. So, when you show up you show up. You can’t complain, you have to compete. I got there, not knowing how much I could give. Just showed up and gave my best. I put my head down and put my best foot forward every single moment. Even though I didn’t know what that moment was going to be.”
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Flash forward to 2022, Venus Williams is yet to make an appearance this year. She last played at the 2021 Chicago Open, suffering a first-round exit. Even though she has recently dropped a slight hint of her comeback at Wimbledon, an official announcement is still awaited.