An unhappy story book ending for one the greatest tennis players could be coming to an end. Venus Williams withdraws from the US Open prior to her second-round match disclosing a recently diagnosed illness. Williams’ body is breaking down, and over the years she’s suffered injuries and had health issues that have taking her away from the game. On Wednesday, she withdrew from the US Open an hour before her second-round match.
Venus has been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, it’s an auto-immune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects her energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain. The syndrome destroys the glands that produce tears and saliva and can affect the kidneys, lungs and blood vessels. The body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. Complications although sometimes rare, can include kidney failure, lymphoma and pulmonary infection.
Some 4 million Americans are afflicted with the condition, and nine of 10 are women.
