Grand Slam or Grand Endorsement: Serena Williams’s Shocking Return Sparks Debate Over Weight Loss Drugs

Is Serena Williams coming out of retirement to chase more tennis glory? Or is this one big advertisement for the GLP-1 weight loss drugs she promotes?Most of the tennis world is focused on the shocking news that Ms. Williams will return to tennis a little under four years after announcing she was “evolving away” from the sport where she won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, placing her among the best women’s tennis players of all-time.The 44-year-old mother of two will compete in the Queen’s Club Championships, a grass-court warmup for Wimbledon as a doubles wild card. She will partner with Canada’s Victoria Mboko in the tournament set to begin June 16. Her older sister Venus, 45, came out of retirement last year and has had modest success.Whether the upcoming Queen’s tournament is a prelude to Serena Williams competing at Wimbledon where she won seven times, remains to be seen. But even the prospect of that happening has the tennis world buzzing.“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin the next chapter,” Ms. Williams said in a statement posted on X, sounding as if her tennis story isn’t complete. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”While Ms. Williams’ return carries several intriguing storylines, including trying to be competitive at her age after an extended absence and whether she can win another Grand Slam to tie the record of 24 shared by Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court, it also could force a referendum on GLP-1.To become eligible for competition, Ms. Williams had to spend six months in tennis’ anti-doping testing pool. She was subjected to random drug testing and forced to remain in a certain place for an hour a day. She was cleared on Feb. 22.Speculation of her return spread quickly to which she posted on X: “Omg, yall, I’m NOT coming back.”But here she is.Ms. Williams has been an outspoken proponent of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. She appeared in a commercial during the Super Bowl for the telehealth company, Ro, endorsing its GLP-weight loss drugs. Ms. Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, is an investor in Ro and serves on its board.While GLP-1 drugs aren’t currently listed as a banned substance, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has said it is monitoring whether they will be classified as performance enhancing.Ms. Williams has said she struggled to lose weight following the birth of her first child, a daughter Olympia in 2017. In an interview with Women’s Health she said, “I was eating extremely healthy and I was working out really hard because I know what it takes to be number one. But I was never able to lose weight, and that was really frustrating.”She had difficulty losing weight again after the birth of her second child, another daughter Adria in 2023. This time, she felt a strain on her joints, and began to consider weight loss medications, but was hesitant due to the scrutiny it might invite.She eventually decided to try the weight loss drugs and now credits them for relieving her joint stress and allowing her to move better. “I am a very good use case of how you can do everything – eat healthy, work out to the point of even playing a professional sport and getting to the finals of Wimbledon and U.S. Opens – and still not be able to lose weight,” she said. “It’s not a shortcut. It’s not a copout. This is just another tool to support my health journey.”Ms. Williams hasn’t revealed which medication she is on. Ro offers Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound. If she has success in her return to tennis, it’s logical the speculation over which weight-loss drug she is taking will benefit Ro where she serves as a celebrity patient ambassador.“I would never take a shortcut to living a healthy life,” she told Women’s Health. “It’s really about using the tools available to you to support your health. That’s why it’s so important to be transparent with my story.”While it’s her story, Ms. Williams’ endorsement of weight-loss drugs could impact her legions of fans, especially female tennis players like Ms. Mboko. “I really look up to her,” Ms. Mboko said during a news conference in Canada. “I mean, the fact that she even knows me is very exciting. She’s my idol.”

Grand Slam or Grand Endorsement: Serena Williams’s Shocking Return Sparks Debate Over Weight Loss Drugs

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