Venus Refuses to Give Excuses on Her Paris Loss

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2012

Venus Refuses to Give Excuses on Her Paris Loss |

Venus Williams refused to indulge in any form of self-pity as her dubious fitness, compromised after being diagnosed last September with Sjogren’s Syndrome, contributed to a second round French Open exit.

The five times Wimbledon champion who began the year at 134 in the world rankings after the fatigue-inducing autoimmune disease hugely affected her playing schedule, has never won the French Open. Her best effort came in 2002 when she lost in the final to her sister Serena.

Venus followed Serena through the French Open singles exit door by losing 6-2,6-3 to third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska. “I do the best I can,” Williams said. “I don’t have a magic answer. If I did, I’d be in the third round.”

When Williams was diagnosed during last year’s US Open, she revealed she could barely lift her arms above her head. Things are considerably better now, thanks to diet and medication but she said: “I don’t know if I ever asked myself, Why me? There’s a lot of people who have it a lot worse than I do.

“Obviously it’s frustrating at times. I don’t know if there’s anything mental more I can do at this point, but there’s a lot of stages to go through with this kind of thing. I’m still playing a professional sport, so I have to be very positive. And I’m going to have ups and downs. I hope I never get to the ‘Why me.’ I’m not allowed to feel sorry for myself.”

Topics: French Open, Venus Williams