At a press conference in Eastbourne prior to her first match in nearly a year, former No. 1 Serena Williams said she could have died from the blood clots that developed in her lungs in February.
"I had several clots bilaterally, in both lungs," said Williams, who suffered from a pulmonary embolism. "A lot of people die from that because you don't recognize it. Me being an athlete, I couldn't breathe. I honestly just thought I was out of shape. I thought I needed to get on the treadmill or something. (The doctors) just said it could have gotten a lot serious a day later or two days later. It could have been really not good. It could have possibly been career-ending…I've had some serious health problems and I was literally on my deathbed at one point in my career or my life. This is like a totally different road where I'm more or less thinking, okay, I have nothing to lose at this point."
Williams, who also had foot surgery last year to repair cut and torn foot tendons, said she missed being on top of the game and competing. She’ll face Tsvetana Pironkova on Tuesday.
"I'm here not to lose," the defending Wimbledon champion said. "I'm hoping I can peak at Wimbledon."
The 13-time Grand Slam champion also said she is as motivated as ever. Williams, who was fined for a major confrontation with a lineswoman during the 2009 U.S. Open, joked that, "I'm definitely going to still get really serious about line calls. I probably won't make the same threats. But my attitude hasn't changed. I still cracked a couple of rackets in practice. But that's good…I have that desire, just innate thing inside me that I just want everything and I just want to win and I want to do well."