Serena Williams Credits GLP-1 Medication for Improved Health
Roughly a year after beginning a weight loss drug, tennis champion Serena Williams says the medication has made her the healthiest she has ever been. The 44-year-old Williams announced her retirement from professional tennis in 2022, concluding a 27-year career that included 23 Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals.
Even at the peak of her athletic career, Williams struggled with weight loss through diet and exercise. She also expressed concern about the risk of diabetes, a condition that runs in her family and is diagnosed at higher rates among Black people compared to the general population. “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 publicly revealed in August that she had started taking a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a widely popular class of drugs. Simultaneously, she announced a partnership with Ro, a telehealth company that prescribes GLP-1 medications. Her husband, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, is an investor in Ro and serves on its board.
GLP-1 drugs work by suppressing appetite, mimicking a hormone found in the gut. This class of drugs includes medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro, which lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, as well as Zepbound and Wegovy, which are approved for weight management. Wegovy has also been approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in individuals who are overweight or obese.
As of a health metrics update shared on Wednesday as part of a campaign with Ro, Williams reported that the GLP-1 medication has lowered her cholesterol and steadied her blood sugar. She has lost approximately 34 pounds in the last year, according to her statements. She also reported losing 31 pounds since starting the medication in 2023, according to a report from February 1, 2026.
While the typical results may vary, Williams shared that her total cholesterol has dropped 30% since 2021 – her penultimate year of professional tennis – from 185 milligrams per deciliter to 129 milligrams per deciliter. Doctors generally recommend a total cholesterol level of around 150 milligrams per deciliter.
“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.
The cholesterol change Williams experienced is somewhat unusual; on average, individuals taking a GLP-1 medication see around a 5% decrease in their total cholesterol levels.
Lowering cholesterol can reduce the lifetime risk of heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. Black adults are 54% more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than white adults, according to a 2023 study.
“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.”
Weight loss has also reduced stress on her knee joints, which Williams said contributed to her decision to start a GLP-1 medication. Knee injuries were a recurring issue throughout her tennis career, and she reportedly believed she may have won more matches without them.
Williams indicated that, for her, GLP-1 medications are likely a long-term commitment. When asked about a potential return to tennis on “TODAY,” she stated it was “not a yes or a no” and that she would “see what happens.”
Clinical trials for drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound focused on individuals who were overweight or obese, with an average starting weight of 232 pounds. These trials found that adults taking Wegovy or Zepbound shed roughly 15% of their body weight – an average of 35 pounds. Discontinuing these medications can lead to weight regain, with an average of around 10 pounds regained in the first year after stopping the drug.
