Serena Williams Confesses to Using Weight-Loss Drug After Shedding 31 Pounds: 'Really Good Decision'

One of the world's greatest athletes just confessed to taking a weight-loss drug.

Serena Williams revealed during an interview on Thursday, August 21, that she started using a GLP-1 medication about one year ago, and as a result, has shed 31 pounds amid her ongoing health and wellness journey.

"I was on and off (the medication) and now completely on," she told the Today show. "It was a really good decision I had to make for my life, you know, I tried everything."

Williams explained how she began taking the medicine in partnership with the health care company Ro, which she is a paid spokesperson for and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is an investor of and holds a position on its board.

"This all started after I had my (first) kid," the famed tennis star recalled. "As a woman, you go through different cycles in your life. ... No matter what I did — running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that's good, I literally was playing a professional sport — and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health. Then, after my second kid, it just even got harder. So then I was like, OK, I have to try something different."

Williams said she tried switching her diet and becoming vegan and vegetarian, but nothing worked until she started taking the GLP-1 drug.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted her health has drastically improved since starting the weight loss-enhancing drug, as she noted her blood sugar levels had gotten better and her joints feel "lighter."

"I had a lot of knee issues ... especially after I had my kid (and) was never able to get to my normal levels of weight. And that, quite frankly, definitely had an effect on maybe some wins that I could have had in my career," she shared.

Fortunately, Williams hasn't experienced any of the side effects that could come with taking a GLP-1 medication.

"I put my body through a lot. ... I understand that there are lots of side effects, I just didn't have any," she mentioned.

Williams said her decision to partner with Ro and open up about her experience using a drug for weight loss has to do with a negative narrative that has been created about these types of medications.

"A misconception is that it's a shortcut," she pointed out. "As an athlete and as someone that has done everything, I just couldn't get my weight to where I needed to be at a healthy place — and believe me, I don't take shortcuts."

"I definitely had struggles because, I mean, I believed it too," she admitted of the stigma behind drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro. "But with Ro, I could easily just ask all the questions, and ... I didn't have to worry about it, and not have to feel like someone was looking at me sideways."

Williams — who shares two daughters, Olympia, 7, and Adira, 2, with her husband — plans to stay on the weight-loss drug long-term.

"I feel like, after having my kids, my body was missing something. I don't know if it's something that the GLP-1 has, but I just feel normal again," she declared.