Tennis star Venus Williams has stripped down to pose naked for a magazine photo shoot.
The
five-time Wimbledon champion also revealed intimate details about her
struggles with Sjogren's syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that causes
white blood cells to attack a person's moisture-producing glands.
'At my worst point, I wasn't able to play tennis at all,' the 34-year-old Florida native told ESPN Magazine.
Stripped down: The tennis star posed naked for
ESPN Magazine's Body Issue, and also revealed new details about her
health struggles
'Just
the whole quality of my life was compromised. You are so tired it
hurts. You have to accept that you're never going to be 100 percent.'
Ms
Williams is featured in the magazine's Body Issue along with 2013
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Tomas Berdych, who posed wearing only a
racquet and a smile.
In
2012, Ms Williams and her sister Serena made history when they became
the first tennis players to claim four Olympic gold medals.
The dynamic duo triumphed in women's doubles against Czech fourth seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.
Top form: Last year's Wimbledon quarter-finalist Tomas Berdych told the magazine that he works hard to stay in shape
But she was forced to stop playing for more than six months in 2011-12
because of her illness - and fought hard to work her way back up the
rankings.
Currently, she is ranked 31st in singles play and 88th in doubles.
She explained that the key to her rehabilitation has been learning to pace herself, admitting that there were
days when she would fall asleep in her car after training too hard.
Ms Williams is currently in London for Wimbledon, where she faces off today against Maria Teresa Torro-Flor.
