Serena Williams, the tennis legend, recently revealed she shed 14 kilograms (about 31 pounds). She credits a medication called GLP-1 Ro for helping her reach this milestone.
“I feel fantastic,” Williams, 43, shared with People magazine in an interview published on Thursday, August 21. “I feel truly well and healthy. I feel light, both physically and mentally.”
The former professional athlete explained her decision to try weight loss medication. She had “never” been able to get back to the weight she “needed” after her daughter Olympia was born in 2017.
“It was wild because I had never in my life been in such a spot,” she recalled. “I worked so hard, ate so clean, and just couldn’t get to where I needed to be.” Williams noted she never took shortcuts in her career. She always worked incredibly hard and understood what it took to be the best. For her, it was “very frustrating” to put in all that effort and see no real change.
Williams shares Olympia with her husband, Alexis Ohanian. The couple welcomed their second daughter, Adira, in August 2023. After her second pregnancy, Williams faced a similar struggle with her weight. She lost some of the initial pregnancy weight. However, after two weeks, the number on the scale simply wouldn’t budge.
“I never dropped another pound,” she told People. “I thought, ‘Wow, I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to where I needed to be.'”
She then began researching Ro, a GLP-1 medication. She openly wondered if it would be a “shortcut” for weight loss. Williams started the injections in early 2024, after she finished breastfeeding Adira. On Thursday, she shared with Today that she initially used the medication on and off before fully committing to it.
“I wanted to be really informed before I did it,” she said. She made it clear that she never “felt that pressure” to maintain a specific body type. However, she simply didn’t feel like herself with the extra weight. Williams also told Today she didn’t experience any side effects from the medication.
“There was nothing wrong with the size I was before,” Williams stated. “It just wasn’t where I wanted to be. I just knew I wanted to be where I personally felt comfortable.”
Williams is the latest big name to speak about her success with GLP-1 medications. Other stars have also shared their weight loss journeys using similar drugs like Ozempic or Mounjaro.
The GLP-1 hasn’t just helped her look better—she’s been showcasing her new figure in various Instagram photos. Williams told the publication that she also feels better overall.
“I’m more active. My joints don’t ache as much,” she shared. “Something as simple as bending over is much easier for me. And I do it a lot faster. I feel like I have a lot of energy, and it’s wonderful. I feel quite good about it.”