Serena Williams opened up about her mental health, sharing that she had a “difficult August” and “faced challenges that tested my spirit and resilience,” in an Instagram post Tuesday.

The tennis legend — who revealed on Aug. 21 that she lost more than 31 pounds taking Ro, a GLP-1 drug used for weight loss — explained that she “took some time away” to focus on her well-being.

“Dearest gentle reader, My summer started out well but I was plunged into a difficult August,” Williams, 43, wrote. “Like many of you, I faced challenges that tested my spirit and resilience. Life can sometimes feel overwhelming and it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters — your mental health and well-being. I took some time away to breathe, to reconnect with myself, and to remember that it’s perfectly okay to pause and reconnect. Even if it’s just a quiet night to yourself. Anything counts.
Serena Williams opened up about her mental health in a post on Instagram, September 16, 2025.Instagram/Serena Williams
“I’ve learned that the end of a matter is better than its beginning. And even though things haven’t reached their end yet, I’m also learning to let go and live life one moment at a time.

“The only thing I’m dealing with in this moment here is how good this dress looks against first editions. How was your summer?”

She added the hashtag #LadySerenaOfStocktonStreet, a reference to her upcoming podcast, “Stockton Street,” with sister Venus Williams, debuting Sept. 17.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who faced some scrutiny for turning to the weight loss drug, looked stunning in a red dress while posing in front of a bookshelf.

During a recent interview with The Guardian, Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, recalled “a few fights” with the retired tennis star over her weight — adding that she didn’t like when he told her that her weight was affecting her movement on the court.

When asked, “So now that she’s lost all this weight, are you like, ‘Well, I wish she had done this five, six years ago?’” Mouratoglou said, “I’m not the type of guy who’s looking back and having regrets. But, yeah, if she would have been in this position physically, the results would have been better.”

In a preview clip for her new podcast, Williams recalls having to be honest with herself about her body.

“You were too big and you needed to be lighter, and you needed to have an opportunity to run raster, I mean those were the talks I had to have with myself later,” Williams says. “You have to be honest with yourself.”

The WYN Beauty founder said she turned to the GLP-1 — short for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists — after she struggled to stay at a “healthy” weight following the births of her daughters, Olympia in 2017 and Adira in 2023.