Venus Williams Shares Inspiring Message After First-Round Wimbledon Loss: 'You Have To Get to Learning'

etonline.com:

Venus Williams is keeping her head up after her first-round loss at Wimbledon.The five-time Wimbledon singles champion took to Instagram on Tuesday to share a heartfelt message to her fans after her defeat to Elina Svitolina on Centre Court on Monday.

The 43-year-old has had a series of injury setbacks that have plagued her in recent years — including a diagnosis of Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain and fatigue -- her Instagram post expressed a refreshed optimism toward the future of her competitive career in professional tennis.«I'm not sure how I managed to smile in this moment but I don't remember my face looking like this...pleasant...I felt just the opposite,» Venus admitted in her caption. «I felt like everything slipped away from me so quickly and I was disappointed that I wasn't stronger to pull out the match despite the circumstances.»She continued, «I'm happy I can look back at this moment and see I smiled.

I felt like crying. But as an fyi I didn't cry. I don't have time for crying when I'm trying to get to the next level. I sat in the locker room right after thinking...to figure out what I could learn from this and plotting how I was going to be better.»Writing that she believes in «less time crying and more time working,» the seven Grand Slam singles title winner concluded her post by writing, «I also believe in being a good sport.