Blood clot scariest moment of my life, says Serena Williams

Serena Williams has revealed the true seriousness of her health scare, describing it as the most frightening moment of her life.

The 13-time grand slam winner and defending Wimbledon champion is recovering from an operation to remove a blood clot found in her lung a fortnight ago. Williams, 29, had developed a haematoma from a pulmonary embolism, stemming from an incident when she cut her foot on broken glass in a Munich restaurant last July.

Speaking publicly for the first time since undergoing surgery, Williams said: "I could not breathe. I remember thinking, I'm walking but I cannot breathe. That forced me to the emergency room. I developed what started as a golf ball and ended up being a grapefruit on my stomach. I had to get it drained.

"When I got there they said, we can't drain it, we have to surgically remove it. It was the scariest moment in my life. It went from my leg to my lung. It travelled fast. I still have several clots in my lung. They have to eventually dissolve."

Williams is refusing to set a comeback date. "I'm taking it a day at a time," she said. "I'm on blood thinner injections, so I inject myself twice a day."