Serena Williams Serves an Ace Against Weight Stigma, but is it a Double Fault?

Another day, another celebrity hops on the GLP-1 train. This time, it’s none other than the tennis G.O.A.T. herself, Serena Williams. The 23-time Grand Slam champion just revealed she’s been using a weight-loss medication to shed the pounds she struggled with after the births of her two daughters. And honestly? Good for her.

Let’s be real, Williams has spent her entire career under a microscope. Her body, her power, her every grunt on the court has been scrutinized and debated by people who couldn’t return one of her serves if their life depended on it. So, when a world-class athlete—someone whose entire profession is built on peak physical conditioning—says she can’t lose weight through diet and exercise alone, it’s time to listen up. It’s a powerful message that tells the rest of us mortals that sometimes, biology just doesn’t play fair.

Still, you can almost hear the collective groan from the “just eat less and move more” crowd. The narrative that these medications are the “easy way out” is a tired one, yet it persists. But Williams is here to shut that down, partnering with telehealth company Ro to normalize the conversation. As she put it, “I don’t take shortcuts.” For her, this isn’t a magic pill; it’s a tool that supports the grueling work she’s already doing.

Williams’ Post-Pregnancy Weight Woes

For most people, having a baby is a monumental life change. For a professional athlete at the top of their game, it’s that and then some. After giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017, Williams found herself in a frustrating battle with the scale. Despite playing a professional sport—a detail that feels almost absurd to have to point out—she hit a plateau she couldn’t break.

“I literally was playing a professional sport, and I could never go back to where I needed to be,” she said. It’s a surprisingly relatable struggle. Imagine the sheer frustration of being one of the greatest athletes in history and still feeling like your body won’t cooperate. The situation didn’t get any easier after her second daughter, Adira, was born in 2023, by which point Williams had retired from her legendary 27-year career.