NEED TO KNOW
- Serena Williams posed confidently for a series of swimsuit photos seen in an Instagram carousel uploaded on Thursday, Aug. 21
- The tennis star’s post came soon after she discussed her successful weight loss, revealing that she used a GLP-1 medication to help and has since lost over 31 lbs.
- Williams also opened up about body positivity, her self-confidence and losing the weight
Serena Williams is radiating both inside and out!
The retired tennis star, 43, confidently shined in a yellow bathing suit for a series of Instagram photos shared shortly after she opened up to PEOPLE about her weight loss journey with a GLP-1 medication during an exclusive interview.
The images featured Williams striking several poses while standing in knee-deep waters, wearing a yellow, one-piece swimsuit with a cutout in the center and an untied bowtie.
She accessorized with a green bandana around her neck and black shades.
Serena Williams poses in a yellow one-piece bathing suit in August 2025.
Serena Williams/Instagram
The 23-time Grand Slam champion stood strong, smiling with her hands on her hips in the first shot, spread her arms out wide for the playful, candid second snap and turned slightly profile with her arm back down by her side for a third picture.
She added a selfie of herself to conclude her carousel, which showed off floral details on her green bandana and accessories. She threw her hand up into the air, freely, while her blonde tendrils gently blew in her face.
“melanin mellow-yellow ⚠️,” she captioned the Instagram carousel, uploaded on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Prior to her Instagram post, the tennis icon — who shares Olympia, 6, and Adira, 1, with her husband, Alexis Ohanian — opened up about her weight loss journey, revealing that she has been using a GLP-1 medication to help with weight loss and has since lost over 31 lbs.
“I feel great,” she told PEOPLE exclusively in August. “I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally.”
Serena Williams.
Serena Williams/Instagram
Williams says her struggle with weight began after she gave birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017, and her body started to change postpartum.
“I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be, no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained,” she explained. “It was crazy because I’d never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.”
The decorated athlete noted how she’s always put in the physical work, but the outcome was different post-pregnancy.
Serena Williams during the 2018 US Open Women’s Singles match on August 29, 2018 in New York ; Serena Williams in July 2025.
EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ/AFP via Getty ; Serena Williams/Instagram
“I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best,” she made known. “So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.”
Williams welcomed her second child, daughter Adira River, in August 2023, and experienced similar struggles to her first after giving birth again. She was able to lose a lot of weight in two weeks, but then remained stagnant afterwards.
“I never lost another pound,” she revealed.
That’s when she decided to turn to Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare company, for additional support with a GLP-1 treatment. GLP-1 is short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which work in the brain to impact satiety. Popular brands include Ozempic and Mounjaro.
Serena Williams poses with her daughters, Olympia and Adira.
Serena Williams/Instagram
Prior to using it, Williams said she “did a lot of research on it” to understand the benefits and additional positive and/or negative effects, and also confided in her doctor to ensure it was right for her.
The Olympic gold medalist was able to start the weekly injections about six months after Adira was born, when she stopped breastfeeding in early 2024. Since her weight loss, she said she feels better than ever.
“I just can do more. I’m more active. My joints don’t hurt as much,” she shared, though noted that her confidence and self-love has stayed the same.
“Weight loss should never really change your self image,” she told PEOPLE. “Women often experience judgment about their bodies at any size, and I’m no stranger to that. So I feel like you should love yourself at any size and any look.”
