Serena Williams says she went off blood thinners three weeks ago and has no fear of getting injured at Wimbledon. Williams, who just returned to the tour last week in Eastbourne after nearly a year away due to injury and illness, says she recovered quickly from the pulmonary embolism and subsequent hematoma she suffered in February, but was only able to hit a month ago.
Both of Williams' feet were cut while walking in restaurant in Germany just after winning Wimbledon last year. The 13-time Grand Slam champion underwent surgery to repair the wounds, the scars of which she showed to small group of U.S. reporters for the first time Sunday.
"To this day I don’t know [what happened],” she said. "Something must have fell. It’s like the biggest mystery next to the Lockness Monster. I have never been able to figure it out...I remember thinking, Ohhh, that really hurt. Literally there was this massive puddle of blood. It was dark. I was wearing damn flats. If I had worn boots my life would have been different."
Williams had been on the blood thinner Coumadin, but said that once she discovered that is was "rat poison" she went off of it. Before flying to England, she took an injection of Lovenox, used to prevent deep vein thrombosis, which can lead to blood clots in the lungs.
The 29-year-old says that while she is not at her peak fitness, her lung capacity has improved and, "I don’t have any fears.every fear I have has been answered…There is nothing to fear. This [comeback] is different because I’ve pretty much had a full year off. It’s totally different. I had to train different to get my capacity back in my lung. My body is different because you take time off. My butt’s way softer than it normally is."
Williams said she gave herself just 21 days to prepare before playing Eastbourne, where she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, but fell to Vera Zvonareva. “I felt good in my match at Eastbourne," she said. "I still don’t feel great, but I feel good. I feel really good."