"I myself almost died of the same thing" - Serena Williams recalls death of close friend in emotional message

Serena Williams recently promoted a book written by a friend whose husband, who was also close to the tennis legend, tragically passed away during her 2022 US Open campaign. The 2022 US Open marked Williams' last competitive tennis outing, with her shock third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic bringing an end to her stellar career.

On Tuesday, January 28, Serena Williams took to both X and Instagram and penned a lengthy post. In the first part of the post, the former World No. 1 remembered JR Ridinger, a close friend who breathed his last while Williams was participating at the 2022 US Open. According to Williams, the cause of Ridinger's death was a blood clot, a complication that threatened the tennis legend's life on multiple occasions.

"At my last US Open, a good friend of mine JR Ridinger posted his last ever post here on IG. Of course at the time none of us knew that it would be his last - but it was about me and how proud he was of me in my final tournament. He had stayed up to watch me win a great battle. The next day, I got news that he had passed due to a blood clot," Serena Williams wrote.

"This was super triggering to me because I myself almost died of the same thing. Only because it was caught in time. What made me so fortunate and not others? I was flooded with emotions and all the moments we spent together with his wife one of my best friends, Loren Ridinger," she added.

The 23-time singles Grand Slam champion went on to write about how Loren, the wife of her friend who had passed away, has authored a book that deals with moving on in life after losing a loved one. Williams hailed the book, 'Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up?: Living Your Best Life after Losing Your Greatest Love', as a "must-read".

"How do we move forward? How do we keep going? It was a devastating setback. In this amazing book, Loren discovers how to continue to live your best life after losing your greatest love. It's something she still deals with today, but we know that JR would be so proud of her. Congrats @lorenridinger. This is indeed a MUST READ. Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up?: Living Your Best Life after Losing Your Greatest Love," Williams concluded.

Serena Williams revealed in an interview that she had learned about blood clots being present in her lungs back in 2010.

"I'm at high risk for blood clots" - Serena Williams

Serena Williams during a press conference at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships (Source: Getty)

In 2022, Serena Williams told Elle that had the blood clots in her lungs not been diagnosed in time, they could have led to her death.

"In 2010, I learned I had blood clots in my lungs—clots that, had they not been caught in time, could have killed me. Ever since then, I’ve lived in fear of them returning. It wasn’t a one-off; I’m at high risk for blood clots," Williams said.

The former No. 1's condition deteriorated particularly following the birth of daughter Olympia, her first child with husband Alexis Ohanian, leading to life-threatening complications.

"When I woke up from that surgery, in the hospital room with my parents and my in-laws, I felt like I was dying. They were trying to talk to me, and all I could think was, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying. Oh my God," Williams said later in the same interview.

Ultimately though, Williams recovered and and remarkably returned to competitive tennis. She gave birth to her and Ohanian's second child, daughter Adira River, in 2023.