One of the biggest news stories of the last week within health and sport has been Serena Williams’s announcement that she has been taking a GLP-1 weight-loss medication, and that she is now also advertising a brand of this type of drug. Hot takes and fan reactions have quickly been issued in huge volumes. Here, Horsham-based female personal trainer, Becky, gives hers…
Firstly: a disclaimer
As stated above, I’m a personal trainer – not a doctor, scientist, or dietitian. I’m in no way qualified to advise you on the best medical decision for your own health, nor do I make choices about my own body within those contexts without consulting experts. I’d also like to acknowledge upfront one of the key criteria that impacts how Serena has been represented and treated throughout her tennis career – she’s a Black woman, and she herself has spoken on many occasions about the systemic racism which impacts the tennis establishment, as well as how the media represents her. Many of the comments about her appearance have been significantly underpinned by misogynoir – the dual elements of anti-black racism and misogyny combined.
Becky and Serena: a history
I grew up in a tennis-fan two-parent household. Throughout my analogue TV childhood, if you didn’t watch tennis, there were two weeks of the year when you point blank wouldn’t watch TV in our house, as my parents insisted on making the most of the BBC’s tennis coverage. My sister and I were offered the chance to try tennis lessons – I didn’t particularly enjoy them due to my famous dislike of participating in ball sports and cardio, so quickly stuck to watching rather than playing.
So I was there, on the sofa, when Serena and her sister, Venus, first turned professional. At a time when thin was very much in, Serena’s physique was always different to many of her peers, other female athletes (of which there were few on TV outside of equestrianism or Olympics coverage), and others within the entertainment industries.
And Serena went on to win absolutely everything. Multiple times. Her dominance came to define an era, in the same way that the men’s game at the time came to be all about Federer and Nadal.
In the background of my childhood was diet culture. I remember my mum being a WeightWatchers member, and other parents within my life discussing the club. Aerobics videos were still pretty big business, Mr Motivator was a feature of morning TV, and all of my friends and I had seen adverts for SlimFast and then the Special K cereal diet. Thin wasn’t just in, it was aspirational and, supposedly, healthy.
Fitness inspiration – what would Serena do?
My own shape bothered me in various ways, but how my body looked wasn’t what eventually drove me towards the gym the year I turned 30; it was the awareness that I didn’t exercise, but knew I should. I was anxious about being in the gym, and I went anyway. One of the tactics I employed was coming up with a fitness persona, like performers have a stage persona, and one of the athletes I admired and kept in mind was Serena Williams.
By this point in time, Serena was heading towards the end of her career, but she was strong and powerful. She’d had her first child, recovered from a traumatic birth, and was back on the court playing at the top level. When I had moments of wanting to give up and duck out early, I thought of Serena, and how she would probably choose differently – if she could do it, I could too, I told myself, despite being nowhere near as fit as a professional athlete. It made sense in my head and that was what mattered.
As I gained more confidence, I slowly shed the alternate persona, and stepped into the belief that I just was the persona – I hold my own hand now, rather than giving that responsibility to a stranger.
Serena and GLP-1 – a lot to unpack
As I implied at the beginning, there’s a lot to this story. Serena’s husband is an investor in the company that produces the drug she promotes. There had been heavy speculation earlier this year that Serena had been taking weight-loss medication when she shared some selfies on social media (said speculation was far from ok, in my opinion). Within the recent promotion, Serena has leaned on the narrative of wanting to lose extra weight after having her children, and not being able to no matter how she ate and trained. She also revealed that, at the peak of her career, one of her coaches told her that she was too heavy (something that other female athletes, including Jess Ennis-Hill, have mentioned in the past).
Serena has faced a lifetime of scrutiny about her looks and personality, much of which is highly unfair. Other than what she’s openly shared, we don’t know what’s behind the choice she’s made for her body, and I’m keen to separate that fact.
What I’d like to point out is that this messaging again encourages us to believe that thinness is both desirable and healthy. Both of those things may be true for some people. It isn’t the case for everyone, and nor should it be. Throughout 2025 so far, momentum has been building around these drugs. It feels like everyone is taking them, from those who are in very big bodies and whose weight is a serious health concern, to those who want to spot-reduce fat and look “better” in outfits to everyone in between. The pressure to follow the crowd can be intense when, really, this is a decision which should be made by an individual with the support of a doctor and their health at the forefront.
It also feels like an abrupt about face on our perception of female athletes, having seen huge strides taken during the Paris 2024 Olympics when athletes of a broad range of sizes and shapes were truly celebrated. Women like weightlifter Emily Campbell and rugby player Ilona Maher champion this cause daily, only for another athlete to come along and give the opposite message.
What happens next?
Having a celebrity not just share via a statement that they’ve used a weight-loss medication, but actively advertise one feels like a slide down the slope. September – aka “second January” for the fitness industry – is about to begin, with people returning from summer holidays and having confronted their body by the pool, seen Christmas looming on the horizon and freed up some brain space when packing their kids off back to school wanting to make a change. Many of us are ready and waiting with genuine, caring support and a hope that year-round sustainable habits will be embedded, rather than guilt-ridden crash diets will be started.
Later this autumn, I’m attending a CPD day about how to support those taking GLP-1s via a wraparound and lifestyle medicine approach because, realistically, I know that I will encounter more people who are using these medications. I hope that, no matter their reasons, I can help them in a way that suits us all.