Wimbledon official admits she was terrified and nervous during match at SW19

Former Wimbledon line judge Pauline Eyre opened up about the sheer terror she felt while officiating the 2009 final between Serena and Venus Williams. The iconic American siblings had previously faced off in the 2008 final, where Venus triumphed over Serena to claim her fifth Wimbledon crown.

The next year saw them compete once more, with Serena on the hunt for her second major title of the season after clinching the Australian Open. Eyre, who was among the line judges during that nail-biting final, shared her recollections of the high-pressure role on the right baseline with BBC Radio London's Shay Kaur Grewal.

"The first time I line judged Serena against Venus in this country, I had never been so nervous in my life," confessed Eyre. "I was on the baseline - on the right baseline. I remember it really well. The tension was incredible, and people used to say, didn't they?'Oh, they work it out between them. One will win this time.'"

Eyre, who swapped the courts for comedy after two decades as a Wimbledon line judge, spoke of how the intensity of the Williams sisters' clash impacted her. "They were so, so in the moment. And I could feel that sibling rivalry. It was just the most intense, incredible experience. I was terrified the whole time. When I came off court, I was like, 'Oh, that was amazing.' It was - it was a massive buzz."

Eyre delved into the grading system for line judges, who were notably absent from this year's prestigious Grand Slam event, detailing how officials were chosen for final matches. "If you did a good job and nothing much happened, you got a three. If you messed up, you got a two," Eyre explained. "If you messed up badly, you got a one. If you did well, you got a four. And now I'm in comedy where you get stars for your shows.

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"Three, four, five stars, two stars. It's the same kind of pressure. But that was every time you did a single shift. So you do an hour and a half on court or an hour on court, and you would be marked. And you had to keep performing and keep performing. And the people who got the best marks got selected for the finals."

Williams, having sat out the competition at the All England Club this month, opened up about her nearly three-decade-long health ordeal, including her fight with fibroids and adenomyosis. In a recent interview with NBC News Daily, the 45-year-old tennis star described the excruciating pain she has suffered due to her condition.

"My symptoms were extreme pain. You know, getting so much in pain that maybe you throw up. Or you can't get off the ground," Williams recounted. Despite the intensity of her symptoms, medical professionals initially failed to provide an accurate diagnosis or effective treatment. "As bad as things were for me, crazy amounts of bleeding like you couldn't imagine my doctors told me it was normal," she disclosed.

She revealed incidents where her symptoms erupted just moments before matches, including directly prior to her 2016 Wimbledon doubles final with her younger sister. "I was just lying on the floor in the locker room, like, 'It's gonna pass,' she detailed. It's gonna pass.' Thank God Serena got the doctor... and I was able to get up and eat and start playing. I had those pills with me everywhere. I could never be caught anywhere without my pain pills."