Roughly a year after beginning a weight loss regimen with a GLP-1 receptor agonist, tennis legend Serena Williams says she has reached the healthiest point of her life.
Williams, 44, retired from professional tennis in 2022 after a 27-year career that included 23 Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals. Despite her athletic prowess, she told NBC News that even at the height of her career, she struggled to lose weight through diet and exercise alone. She also expressed concern about her risk for diabetes, which runs in her family and disproportionately affects Black Americans.
“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. “As a woman, as I age, I definitely couldn’t get over that hump.”
Williams revealed in August that she had begun taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a class of medications that suppress appetite by mimicking a gut hormone. The drugs, which include Ozempic, Mounjaro, Zepbound, and Wegovy, are used to manage weight and lower blood sugar, with some also approved to reduce heart attack and stroke risk. Williams concurrently announced a partnership with Ro, the telehealth company that prescribes GLP-1 medications. Her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is an investor and board member at Ro.
As part of a campaign with Ro, Williams shared her health progress, reporting a weight loss of approximately 34 pounds over the past year. She also noted improvements in key health metrics: her cholesterol has dropped 30%, from 185 milligrams per deciliter in 2021 to 129, and her blood sugar levels have stabilized.
“Some of these numbers are from when I was literally winning Grand Slams. So it wasn’t like I was just playing tennis. I was dominating,” Williams said.
Experts note that Williams’ results are notable. In clinical trials, adults using medications like Wegovy or Zepbound—typically starting at an average weight of 232 pounds—lost around 15% of their body weight, or roughly 35 pounds. Average reductions in cholesterol for GLP-1 users are closer to 5%.
Williams emphasized that the medications are part of a long-term plan: “For me, this is a lifetime thing.” She also highlighted the positive impact on her knees, which had suffered injuries throughout her career, and stressed the importance of heart health. “I was at risk for heart disease, and I didn’t even know that,” she said. “That’s kind of scary, and that’s the No. 1 thing that kills Americans. So I could have been a statistic.”
When asked on “TODAY” whether she plans to return to tennis, Williams replied, “not a yes or a no” and said she would “see what happens.”
