Serena Williams Faces Risky Road to Return

Serena Williams' tennis career is on hold indefinitely following a series of health scares she calls "extremely hard ... and disappointing." News surfaced yesterday that Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism in February and then, more recently, a hematoma; she is now recuperating at home. But Williams has not played tennis since she won Wimbledon last summer, because shortly after that she stepped on broken glass and cut tendons in her right foot. Now it is not clear when she will be able to return to the game, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Before suffering the hematoma, Williams told the New York Post she expected to be back in time for May's French Open, but now she can only hope to recover in time for Wimbledon in June, the Tribune reports. Doctors will probably not want her to play for at least six to 12 weeks, but even at that point, she'll be at risk of bruises or bleeding if she gets hit hard. Another former top tennis player, Debbie Graham, also suffered a pulmonary embolism in 2005 that put her out of commission for a year. (More Serena Williams stories.)