Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams and 2010 Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych, also ranked No. 6 by the ATP, will be featured in this year’s The Body Issue by ESPN The Magazine. Both players are in London today for first-round play at the All England Club.

In addition to posing nude for the issue, in the accompanying story Williams exposes harrowing new details about her ongoing battle with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder. “At my worst point, I wasn’t able to play tennis at all,” says Williams. “Just the whole quality of my life was compromised. You are so tired it hurts. You have to accept that you’re never going to be 100%.”

Williams, who was forced to stop playing for just over six months because of the illness, reveals how she was able to work her way back up the rankings. “Because of Sjogren’s syndrome, I have to be careful,” says Williams. “If I train too hard then I won’t be able to do anything the next day. There would be times when I’d park my car at home, and I fell asleep behind the wheel because I was so tired! It’s a balance between pushing myself as much as I can and being reasonable about what I can achieve and what my body will tolerate.”

Berdych becomes only the second ATP player to pose for The Body Issue, following in John Isner’s footsteps last year. The two faced off against one another in the fourth round at the French Open earlier this month (Berdych won in straight sets). Looking towards Wimbledon, the 6-foot-5 ace opens up about how this body reacts to the move from clay to grass. “The grass is a very big challenge for me,” Berdych told ESPN The Magazine reporter Morty Ain. “There are these low bounces and different movements, which is very difficult especially for my height and weight. I start to feel it in the lower back and the lower hamstring.” Regardless, Berdych is optimistic about his prospects. “My first Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon,” he says, “so I have no complaints about the grass.”

ESPN The Magazine’s sixth annual Body Issue is on newsstands July 11. A complete list of athletes to be featured in this year’s edition will be announced Wednesday on ESPN.com.  

For the full Body Issue interview with Venus Williams

For the full Body Issue interview with Tomas Berdych

Photos: Venus Williams (photo credit:  Williams+Hirakawa for ESPN The Magazine)

Photos: Tomas Berdych (photo credit: Max Vadukul for ESPN The Magazine)

Williams and Berdych join the following list of tennis players previously featured in the Body Issue including: John Isner and Agnieszka Radwanksa (2013), Daniela Hantuchova (2012), Vera Zvonareva (2011), Esther Vergeer (2010), and Serena Williams (2009).

About The Body Issue

ESPN The Magazine’s The Body Issue set out five years ago with one mission: to celebrate the athletic form. The keystone of each annual issue is The Bodies We Want photo portfolio, which features roughly 20 of the world’s most elite athletes posing (tastefully) nude. In years past, The Mag has featured sports icons from Serena Williams and Colin Kaepernick to Candace Parker, Blake Griffin, Hope Solo, Kerri Walsh Jennings (who posed 8 months pregnant!), Apolo Anton Ohno and golf legend Gary Player. ESPN The Magazine has a circulation of 14 million readers, with 2.1 million subscribers. But the Body Issue reaches far beyond just sports fans. 

Follow ESPN The Magazine on Twitter and Instagram (@ESPNmag) and like them on Facebook.

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Contact: Carrie Kreiswirth 860-766-6042