The 23-time\u00a0Grand Slam<\/a> champion revealed in interviews with People magazine and “Today” that she turned to a GLP-1 medication after struggling with her health following the birth of her second daughter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In this Sept. 7, 2019, file photo, Serena Williams returns a shot to Bianca Andreescu, of Canada, during the women’s singles final of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York.\u00a0 (AP Photo\/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)<\/p>\n “In particular after having my second kid, I was never able to be at a healthy weight that I could be at, whether it was my joints or blood sugar levels. It was just always something I suffered with and a lot of women actually go through this,” Williams said during an appearance on\u00a0“Today”<\/a> Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a><\/p>\n Williams, 43, said that despite being a trained athlete, she struggled to\u00a0lose weight<\/a> regardless of how active she was. She said it began to take a toll on her joints.\u00a0<\/p>\n “No matter what I did \u2014 running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that’s good, I literally was playing a professional sport \u2014 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.”<\/p>\n Williams said she decided to be open about her journey in order to destigmatize the use of GLP-1 medication for weight loss.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Serena Williams is seen on Aug. 21, 2025 in New York City. \u00a0 (XNY\/Star Max\/GC Images)<\/p>\n SERENA WILLIAMS SAYS SUPER BOWL HALFTIME APPEARANCE WAS NOT MEANT TO SHADE EX, DRAKE: ‘I WOULD NEVER DO THAT’<\/a><\/p>\n “A misconception is that it’s a shortcut,” she told “Today.” “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 \u2014 and believe me, I don’t take shortcuts.”<\/p>\n Williams told\u00a0People magazine<\/a> separately that despite her new look, her confidence level has never wavered. Her decision to make a change was based on something entirely different.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I’ve never felt that pressure to maintain a certain appearance,” she said. “I always felt comfortable at any size, whether I was a lot heavier or not. I do feel like my body didn’t like me at that weight. I had pain in my joints and pain in different areas just because of the extra weight that I’m not used to carrying since I had children.”<\/p>\n Serena Williams clenches her fist after defeating Qiang Wang, of China, during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Sept. 3, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa)<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n “But the size I was before, there was nothing wrong with it. It’s just not what I wanted to have. I just knew that I wanted to be where I personally felt comfortable.”<\/p>\n GLP-1s, also known\u00a0as GLP-1 agonists,<\/a> are a type of drug that mimics a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that helps to regulate blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n Fox News Digital\u2019s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s sports coverage on X<\/a>, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n ![\"Serena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Serena-Williams4.jpg\")
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