Tennis legend Serena Williams posted on social media this week that she recently had a benign branchial cyst removed from her neck and “all is OK.”
Williams wrote on TikTok that she found a lump on her neck in May and got an MRI that confirmed the type of cyst. She was told she did not need to get it immediately removed, but it continued to grow. After undergoing further testing and a biopsy, the cyst, which was the “size of a small grapefruit,” remained benign and her doctors recommended that it be removed to prevent infection.
“I am feelimg [sic] so grateful, and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I’m healthy,” the 43-year-old Williams wrote. “I still made it to American Doll with Olympia as promised. And yes all is ok.”
Williams posted on X on Tuesday that while she missed the Glamour magazine Woman of the Year awards and Rafael Nadal’s recent retirement announcement, she is “still recovering, but getting better.”
The 23-time Grand Slam singles winner and four-time Olympic gold-medal winner retired in September 2022 after a career that saw her spend over 300 weeks as the No. 1 player on the WTA rankings.