Venus Williams, the American veteran took the crown at the Wuhan Open. It is her biggest win since 2010 and her 47th career title, when Garbine Muguruza retired in the second set. The 35-year-old star, who has long dominated women’s tennis with her younger sister Serena, looked on form at Wuhan and retirement seems to be far from her mind. She is travelling to Beijing next for the China Open and might yet qualify for the year-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

In 2011 she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Disease, an immune system disease that often leaves her exhausted. The illness threatened to end her career, but with the help of a new diet Williams has returned to the upper echelons, reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-finals since 2010 in Australia before losing to her sister in the fourth round of Wimbledon this year. Williams next heads to Beijing, where she will once again be the oldest player in the main draw, but with one thing on her min.

Sjogren’s Disease

• It is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s white blood cells destroy the exocrine glands, specifically the salivary and lacrimal glands, that produce saliva and tears, respectively
• Since sjogren’s syndrome is associated with a high prevalence in women, sex hormones, especially estrogen, are believed to affect humoral and cell-mediated immune responses affecting susceptibility to the syndrome.
• There is no prevention mechanism for Sjögren’s syndrome due to its complexity as an autoimmune disorder.