Serena Williams, one of the most decorated athletes in history, revealed that she relied on weight loss medication to help her through a long and difficult struggle with her body image.
In a recent interview, the 43-year-old said she had lost more than 30 pounds with the help of an injectable medication that’s typically used by diabetics.
Highlights
- Serena Williams revealed she used GLP-1 medication to lose more than 30 pounds.
- The tennis legend had struggled with her weight since giving birth in 2017.
- She said the treatment helped her feel lighter, healthier, and more energetic.
Serena’s use of the medication has received polarizing reactions from netizens, with some praising the athlete for her honesty and others criticizing her use of the injectable.
Williams struggled to lose weight after giving birth, so she turned to medical solutions
Image credits: Ro
In a recent interview with People magazine, Williams stated that she has been using a GLP-1 medication to help with her weight loss journey.
The medicine has been working well so far, with the athlete stating that she has lost over 31 pounds.
“I feel great,” she told the outlet. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”
Image credits: Ro
Williams explained that her battle with weight began after giving birth to her first daughter, Alexis Olympia, in 2017.
Delivered via an emergency C-section, the experience left her in a physical state she had never known before.
No matter how intensely she trained or how carefully she ate, her body refused to return to what it once was.
“I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be, no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained.”
“It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy, and could never get down to where I needed to be,” she recalled.
She emphasized that shortcuts were never part of her professional career, which made the lack of progress especially frustrating.
Image credits: Ro
“I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best.
“So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked,” Williams said.
After the arrival of her second daughter, Adira, in 2023, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said she lost the baby weight within two weeks.
Image credits: Instagram / serenawilliams
“I never lost another pound,” she said. “I just thought, gosh, I don't know if I would ever be able to get back to where I needed to get to.”
The tennis legend researched her options carefully before making her decision
Image credits: Getty / Amy Sussman
The tennis legend then began studying weight loss medications, specifically GLP-1 treatments that had been gaining attention around the world.
Williams admitted that she questioned whether using the medication was a “shortcut.” She ended up spending time weighing the pros and cons before making a decision.
“I did a lot of research on it,” she told People. “I was like, ‘Is this a shortcut? What are the benefits? What are not the benefits?’ I really wanted to dive into it before I just did it.”
Image credits: Ro
Six weeks after Adira was born, Williams decided to move forward with Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company, for support with a GLP-1 treatment, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Williams later consulted with a doctor through Ro, and she was able to start her weekly injections about six months after Adira's birth.
“They were super supportive, and it was easy to get the medication. I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1, and I was really excited about that weight loss,” Williams said.
From that point, her energy levels improved dramatically. Her joints felt better, everyday tasks became easier, and her sense of physical freedom returned.
“I just can do more. I’m more active. My joints don’t hurt as much. I just feel like something as simple as just getting down is a lot easier for me. And I do it a lot faster.
“I feel like I have a lot of energy and it's great. I just feel pretty good about it,” she shared.
Netizens have been largely supportive of Serena Williams' honesty about her use of GLP-1 medication
Image credits: Getty / Kevin Mazur/MG25
While the use of injectables like Ozempic has become quite a hot topic on social media as of late, numerous netizens were nonetheless supportive of Williams’ honesty about her use of the medication.
“Good for her and good to know she is admitting to using weight loss dr*gs. I'd rather hear the truth than a lie that it was diet and exercise. That lie only gives many false hopes,” one commenter wrote.
Image credits: Instagram / serenawilliams
“Honesty is the best policy, and it's a great act for someone in the spotlight who's a role model for kids,” wrote another.
Others, however, criticized the tennis legend, with some arguing that Williams should have just lost weight using more natural methods.
“Too bad she can't do it the healthy way! She's supposed to be so healthy and athletic, can't understand she'd take dr*gs. Hope she doesn't get all the horrific side effects,” one critic wrote.
Image credits: Instagram / serenawilliams
“So sad to see this. She had to be the fittest woman on the planet. No one knows what the repercussions will be in ten years,” another critic stated.
Netizens shared their thoughts on Serena Williams’ use of GLP-1 medication on social media
Serena is one of the few who actually confirmed it. See the full list of celebrities who admitted to taking Ozempic alongside those who denied it.