Serena Williams Shows off Impressive Weight Loss — and the Controversial Way She Did It

There are few tennis stars as famous as Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams. The duo made a name for themselves in tennis and then went on to earn accolades and fame beyond their careers.

Yet neither strayed far from their tennis roots, staying fit and active.

Although she is retired from tennis, these days, Serena looks like she could hop on the court and play. In part, this is due to her recent weight loss, which occasioned comments from surprised fans as she shed dozens of pounds from an already-lean frame. Lately, she has been showing off her weight loss and has opened up about the controversial way it came about. Here's what we know about her weight loss.

When reflecting on her recent weight loss success, Serena told People, “I feel great. I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”

She explained that she began struggling with her weight after her daughter, Alexis Olympia, was born in 2017.

She added, "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 at.”

Serena mused, "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.”

And things got tough again after her second daughter, Audra Rose, was born in 2023. Initially, she lost some weight, but then she plateaued. “I never lost another pound,” she recalled, adding, "I just thought, gosh, I don't know if I would ever be able to get back to where I needed to get to."

So how did she break through the plateau and start losing weight? She did it with Ro, a direct-to-patient program that provides GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

She told the outlet, "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."

Now, she has lost 31 pounds and feels great. She told People, "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.”

While some people have criticized her use of the weight-loss medications, Serena emphasized that it still takes hard work and dedication, including attention to diet and a fitness routine.

But whether people approve or not, Serena seems thrilled with her progress, and she looks happy in new social media posts. Which is good, whether or not fans agree with her choices.