Venus Williams, 36, is still out there, kicking ass on the tennis court but of course she’s been a bit overshadowed lately by younger her sister, Serena, who is ranked number one by the Women’s Tennis Association. Venus is number six, not too shabby, and she took home a silver medal in mixed doubles in Rio after losing in women’s doubles with Serena as her partner. At the US Open yesterday afternoon Venus won her match in the second round after a rough start. The thing that makes Venus’s accomplishments even more remarkable is the fact that she suffers from the autoimmune disease Sjorgen’s syndrome, which causes tear duct and salivary gland inflammation and in severe cases can lead to a multi-organ illness similar to lupus. Venus revealed her diagnosis back in 2011 when she was ranked about number 32, so she’s had a significant comeback. In a new video promoting her work with the beverage brand Silk, Venus states that a primarily plant-based diet helped her get her health back on track. She’s told the press about this before, and has said that following a raw vegan diet improved her condition, but this is the first I’m hearing about it. You can see the video above and here’s some of what she said:

What led me a vegan lifestyle? My sisters, they saw me having health difficulties and they said ‘why don’t you try a plant-based lifestyle?’ When you have an opportunity to do it together, there’s nothing like it because the motivation is there and you’re not alone.

Following a vegan diet on the court, you have to plan your life out. I try wherever I’m traveling to scope out places where you can eat, bring things with me to the hotel. I always have a blender, I get to go to fresh markets around the world.

Venus then shared a recipe for a “creamsicle” smoothie with a banana, orange and some soy milk. I make a lot of smoothies but I usually just do kale, spinach and mixed frozen fruit. I will have to add some soy or almond milk this sounds good. This collaboration seems genuine, which is rare, and it makes me think more highly of the Silk brand. (This is not a plug as we didn’t get paid for this.) I’m already a Silk customer because I have their almond and coconut blend in my coffee every morning.

Venus tells People magazine that she’s “primarily” vegan but that she loves butter. She explains that “plant-based is how you define it. Plants first, so that’s what it’s about. Mostly plants and there are some things I haven’t been able to get completely out of my diet.” I can get behind that and found Venus’s message kind of inspirational, especially since she’s been able to live so well with an autoimmune disease. Oh and as Venus mentioned, Serena eats primarily vegan too, but I would bet she makes exceptions like Venus.

Look at Venus with one of her dogs!

photos credit: WENN and Instagram

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