Retired tennis legend Serena Williams is letting the world know how she lost over 30 pounds.
Williams, 43, opened up about using the GLP-1 medication Zepbound to achieve her slimmer frame. The mother of two daughters reflected on her struggle to drop the weight.
“I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best,” she told People in an August 21 article.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion continued, “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’ weight-loss battle began after she gave birth to her first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, in 2017. A second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, arrived in 2023.
GLP-1 became her solution post-pregnancy as she began receiving weekly injections of the medication around six months after giving birth to Adira.
“I did a lot of research on it. 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,” Williams explained.
The resulting body transformation left the tennis champ feeling “light physically and light mentally.”
“I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1 and I was really excited about that weight loss,” she added.
Williams speaking out about connecting with the Ro health care company for support in her GLP-1 treatment was also a way to promote body positivity to her daughters.
“With me going through what I’ve went through growing up in public and just having millions of people commenting on my body, it’s really important to teach them to be confident at any size, just like I try to be,” the former professional athlete stated.
Serena Williams opens up about using drugs to lose weight and get skinnier for the aesthetics.
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) August 21, 2025
Many social media users praised her honesty, while others were glad she finally came clean about what fans have suspected all along.
“We already knew it was a GLP for her to slim down so drastically. Good she confirmed it!” a fan exclaimed in the comment section in the Instagram account of “The Today Show.”
On Serena relying on support, another individual wrote, “Of course she did! Did anyone question that?”
Serena talks about her weight loss journey and looks fitter than ever✨ pic.twitter.com/jmuo6o0wmZ
— Serena’s snatched wig (@Danidilo2) October 27, 2024
Additionally, one People reader commented, “This is great and I’m happy for her. She is still healthy, and she has a positive result. Kudos to her.”
Yet another added, “Undeniable that she looks amazing! Stay strong!! (Don’t lose too much lol).”
After fans’ inquiry, Williams revealed online that she became a celebrity ambassador for Ro, a telehealth company, promoting their GLP-1 medication for weight loss.
Following her three decades of dominating professional tennis, Williams built a reported net worth of $350 million. According to Forbes, she has secured over a dozen other endorsement deals, including contracts with brands such as Nike and Gatorade.
Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, has extremely deep pockets as well. Ohanian, 42, reportedly has an estimated $150 million fortune.
Many were convinced that Williams lost the weight by staying in the gym and eating well due to her promotion of a personal campaign to fit into a designer denim skirt. She documented the series throughout her social media pages in 2024, leaving fans gasping over how thin her waist became in months.
In July 2025, Williams and Ohanian took a family vacation to Europe, where many spotted Serena’s tiny black bikini and slimmed down figure.
Days after pics from their Italian trip went viral, Williams posted selfies while working out in the gym on her Instagram page. The five-slide carousel, which highlighted her ripped abs, was captioned, “Working out and working on my angles.”
Since people have not stopped talking about the Olympic gold medalist’s and her drastic transformation, comparing her recent photos to images of her over the years.
