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| Credit: EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP via Getty ; Serena Williams/Instagram |
The tennis champion has long championed women's health and has been open about her personal fitness experiences. After welcoming her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017, Williams transitioned from being a full-time athlete to becoming a mother, a change that significantly impacted her body.
On August 21, the mother of two revealed that she has lost 31 pounds with the help of a weight loss medication to support her health journey. Williams expressed that it has given her "a lot of energy," and she feels "pretty good about it," especially after her previous struggles with her postpartum body.
"I was never able to reach the weight I wanted, no matter what I did or how hard I trained," she said. "It was frustrating because I had never encountered such a challenge in my life, working so hard, eating so healthily, and still not arriving at my goal."
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| Credit:Alexis Ohanian Sr./ Instagram |
"Weight loss should never change your self-image," she stated. "Women often face judgment about their bodies at any size, and I’m no stranger to that. You should love yourself at any size and in any appearance."
This is the essence of Serena Williams’ empowering message about her health journey and weight loss experience.
In the months following the birth of her daughter Olympia, Serena Williams bravely shared her journey of accepting the changes in her appearance. With time, she embraced her post-baby body.
In July 2019, Williams spoke to Who What Wear about the beautiful fluctuations that bodies experience after childbirth. She offered wise advice to new mothers: "Your body is imperfectly perfect after having a baby. Some people return to their previous shape or improve, while for others, it takes a little longer. And some end up with stretch marks or scars, like me."
She encouraged, "Embrace your imperfectly perfect body, because it produced an amazing human."
In July 2018, Williams said that her approach to shedding baby weight after giving birth to Olympia was rooted in a commitment to a "real healthy lifestyle." She revealed, "My secret to losing the baby weight was working out, eating healthy, and living a genuinely healthy lifestyle. It’s hard—I still feel like I have some weight to lose. But I’m taking it one day at a time."
In August 2023, Williams welcomed her second child, daughter Adira River. Nearly five months later, she shared a video of herself doing barbell squats in a January 2024 Instagram post, demonstrating her determination as she got "back into the swing of things."
In January 2024, Williams shared her journey on Instagram, revealing her goal to fit into a denim skirt she had bought while pregnant with her daughter, Adira.
"I got this cool Valentino skirt when I was pregnant, and I believed, 'I'm going to fit into this when I don’t have a belly,'" she explained in her video.
"Honestly, I should have been able to fit it by now, but I faced some distractions for about a month," she continued. "Houston, we have a problem."
Throughout the year, Williams documented her progress, updating fans on her journey to fit into the skirt. In July, she shared a video saying she was "saying a little prayer." Although she couldn’t zip it up completely yet, she acknowledged her significant progress.
By December, she triumphantly reached her goal, pulling the skirt up fully and securing the button and zipper.
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| Credit: Serena Williams/Instagram |
“It just fits. An ounce more, and it wouldn’t,” Williams stated in the clip. “I need to give myself credit."
A month before this accomplishment, the tennis pro told PEOPLE how much she enjoyed sharing her journey, emphasizing her relatability.
"I love to post relatable content. It’s just who I am. I face the same struggles trying to fit into these darn skirts, and I want to prioritize my health too. It’s important for people to see that, especially since I grew up in Compton," she expressed.
Williams concluded, “If there's anyone else watching, know this: I'm not any different from you. I’m literally the same. If anything, you’re probably smarter and better than I am. That’s the message I always want to share."
In June 2024, a few months after giving birth to her second child, the founder of WYN Beauty shared in an Instagram post that she had undergone a skin-tightening procedure.
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| Credit: Serena Williams/Instagram |
"Embracing the time for self-care is a journey I've always found challenging," she expressed in the post, highlighting how a dear friend treated her to a rejuvenating spa day during her recent trip to Paris
"After having two babies, I've become self-conscious about my tummy," she wrote. "However, the results have been incredible. I see my skin returning to normal and my confidence resparking. My body may not be the same, but neither am I, since I now have two amazing lights in my life.
I will forever cherish my birthing scars, and I want to express my gratitude to my friends Mia and Nat for reminding me that it's okay to take time for myself away from work and kids."
On August 21, the athlete proudly announced her use of a GLP-1 medication—short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists—to support her weight loss journey, during which she has shed 31 pounds.
“I feel great,” she expressed. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light, both physically and mentally.”
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| Credit: Serena Williams/Instagram |
The 23-time Grand Slam champion opened up about her journey, acknowledging the frustration she faced after giving birth and how the medication transformed her experience.
“I have never taken shortcuts in my career and have always worked hard. I know what it takes to be the best,” Williams said. “So it was disheartening to do everything right and see no change in the number on the scale or the way my body looked.”
She continued, “I did a lot of research on it. I wanted to know, 'Is this a shortcut? What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks?' I sought to understand it thoroughly before making a decision.”
Consulting with a doctor through Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company, she began the weekly injections about six months after welcoming her second child, once she stopped breastfeeding in early 2024.
“They were incredibly supportive, making it easy to access the medication,” Williams said with enthusiasm. “I lost over 31 pounds using my GLP-1, and I was thrilled about that transformation.”
She shared that the medication helped her enhance her commitment to healthy eating and exercise.
Despite her openness about her weight loss journey, Williams affirmed, “I have always felt comfortable at any size, whether I was heavier or not.”
“I’ve never felt pressure to conform to a certain appearance,” she stated. “Yet I sensed my body was unhappy at that weight. I experienced discomfort in my joints and other areas due to the extra weight I was unaccustomed to carrying since becoming a mother.”
“But the size I was before wasn't a problem; it just wasn't how I wanted to feel,” Williams reflected. “I knew I wanted to achieve a size where I felt truly comfortable within myself.”
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