Serena Williams says she had grapefruit-sized cyst removed from her neck

Retired tennis star Serena Williams said in a video she posted to TikTok this week that she had a cyst "the size of a grapefruit" removed from her neck.

Sharing the video from what appeared to be a hospital bed, Williams, 43, said Tuesday that she first noticed a "big mass" on her neck in May. Feeling "mortified" at the discovery, she had a number of tests performed, which revealed it was not a cancerous mass but a benign, branchial cyst.

Doctors told her then that getting it removed was optional, Williams wrote in a caption for the video, but it "kept growing." Eventually, her medical team advised getting the cyst removed before it could get infected or develop a dangerous leak."

"So this is me removing it," Williams wrote. "I am feeling so grateful, and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I'm healthy."

Back in May I found a lump showing on my neck. I immediately went to the doc got a mri and was told I have a brachial cyst. Have you ever heard of that? They said I don't need to get it removed if I don't want. So I did not get it but it kept growing. I decided to get more test and 3 test and one biopsy later everything is still negative but doctors advised I get it removed asap because it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected or worse leak. So this is me removing it. I am feelimg so grateful, and fortunate everything worked out, and most of all I'm healthy. I still made it to American doll with Olympia as promised. And yes all is ok. #fyp #foryourpage #serenawilliams #mom original sound - Serenawilliams A 23-time Grand Slam singles title winner, Williams last competed on the WTA Tour at the 2022 U.S. Open, in which she fell to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round . During her playing career, Williams dealt with several medical issues, most notably a harrowing ordeal in 2017 when she gave birth to her first daughter. Williams revealed a few months after the birth that she experienced a pulmonary embolism in a recurrence of a debilitating episode six years earlier and complications from her Caesarean section that required emergency surgery.

Having been at high risk for blood clots during much of her playing career, Williams took to wearing compression apparel — including her famous " catsuit " at the 2018 French Open — to mitigate the chances of developing a condition such as deep vein thrombosis.

Since retirement, Williams's activities have included continued endeavors in the fashion world. In March, she participated in Paris Fashion Week , and she was back in the city during August to attend the Olympics .

A four-time Olympic gold medal winner, Williams refers to her older daughter, whose full name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., as Olympia. She noted in 2017 that her daughter's "AO" initials correspond to the Australian Open, which she had won earlier that year while pregnant.

Williams said in the video that while she was "suffering" in the wake of her surgery, she was not going to let that keep her from a planned activity with Olympia involving a trip to a doll store.

"I am still recovering, but getting better," she wrote on X. "Health always comes first."