Serena Williams weight loss: Inside the tennis star's stunning transformation with GLP-1
Serena Williams weight loss: Inside the tennis star's stunning transformation with GLP-1 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Serena Williams retired from tennis in 2022, ending a storied career as one of the game's best players.
In her post-retirement days, Williams has began to transition into a different lifestyle, one that includes her husband and two daughters. However, Williams has also aimed to get healthier in a way that fits her lifestyle that no longer includes playing professional tennis.
Williams has specifically made it a mission to go on a weight-loss journey, something that includes one of the relatively new weight-loss drugs on the market. Williams has come out in full support of the medication, which she says helped save her life.
Here's a breakdown of how Williams lost weight.
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Serena Williams weight loss
Serena Williams recently underwent a significant weight loss, as she wanted to get to a weight that she couldn't have when she played.
"I literally was playing a professional sport, and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health, for my healthy weight, no matter what I did," Williams said in August 2025. "I would always lose a lot of weight, and then I would stay. No matter what I did, I couldn't go lower than that one number."
Then, five months later in January of 2026, explained her journey through weight loss. Williams details why she decided to take a weight-loss drug, as she struggled to lose weight after having her first daughter.
"Sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how many steps you take, how many miles you run, you just can't get over that hump. I know that for a fact," Williams said, via NBC. "As a woman, as I age, I definitely couldn't get over that hump."
Williams also added that she had significant health risks if she stayed at her previous weight.
"I was at risk for heart disease, and I didn't even know that," Williams said. "That's kind of scary, and that's the No. 1 thing that kills Americans. So I could have been a statistic."
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How much weight did Serena Williams lose?
Williams told NBC News that she lost about 34 pounds in the past year. Williams added that her cholesterol level is 30 percent lower than it was when she was playing tennis professionally.
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Serena Williams before and after
Williams gave birth to her second child in 2023, and right after she had her daughter, Adira, she posted a picture of social media explaining, "right now I love that my body is not picture perfect."
Since she started her weight loss journey, though, Williams posted several pictures on social media, showing her the progress that she made losing weight.
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What is GLP-1?
GLP-1 drugs are a kind of weight-loss medication. GLP-1 stands for glucagon-like peptide-1, which mimics the appetite hormone that helps people lose weight, and there are several of these drugs on the market, like Ozempic and Mounjaro.
The drug that Williams used is Ro, with which her husband, Alexis Ohanian, is also an investor. Here's how Harvard Health describes the impact of GLP-1:
"When you eat, your digestive system breaks carbohydrates down into simple sugars that travel through your bloodstream. GLP-1 triggers the release of insulin from your pancreas. Insulin helps usher glucose (sugar) out of the bloodstream and into your cells, where it can be used for nourishment and energy."
