After welcoming her second daughter Adira River with husband Alexis Ohanian in August 2023, Serena Williams went on a journey to lose her stubborn baby weight.

On January 28, the athlete started documenting her weight loss, tracking her size with a Valentino denim skirt that she bought when she was pregnant.

“I was like, ‘I’m gonna be able to fit in this when I don’t have a belly,’” the Grand Slam champion says in an Instagram clip she captions “The Diary of a Denim skirt (part 1).”

Trying to pull the skirt up over her hips, Williams tells her fans, “And honestly, I should have been able to fit it by now, but I ran into some… I got distracted for about a month. And so, I’m about a month behind. We have a ways to go.” Before saying the skirt was going back in the drawer “for now,” the tennis star adds, “OK, I feel like if I go to the gym then I’ll be able to fit it in a month.”

Second fitting

On May 22, a few months after she first tried to squeeze into the elusive skirt, she gave it another try.

“Ok everyone, I have been working my [butt] off! Let’s see what happens with my jean skirt. Can I fit it yet? Check it out!” she writes in the post.

But, like before, she was unable to pull it up over her hips.

“Almost there…I just want to cry,” she said, adding the skirt was “an inch higher” than it was in January.

Offering their support, fans jumped into the comments section and reminded her she’s “more stunning and real” for sharing her struggles.

“So great for girls to see that even perfect looking people struggle. Always gorgeous,” writes one fan. A second pens, “The most incredible female athlete of ALL TIME is always perfect, no matter what. Phenomenal. Outstanding. Beautiful. Inspirational.”

Meanwhile a third suggests she gives up and sizes up: “Can’t you just buy a larger size that fits you?”

Tummy troubles

In June, the legend shared another post with photos where she appears to be having an ultrasound.

Williams explains that during her last trip to Paris, a girlfriend treated her to a spa day.

“She knows after 2 babies I have been self-conscious of my tummy,” Williams writes of her friend and “a type of radio frequency” she had to help with her weight loss.

“The results have been amazing. I can see progress with my skin going back to normal and my confidence coming back. Listen my body will never be the same but neither will I cause I have 2 amazing lights in my life.”

One netizen shares, “Authenticity at its Finest! Your vulnerability is a breath of fresh air! Thank you QUEEN Serena! Forever the G.O.A.T !”

Continuing that sentiment, another user writes, “Your authenticity is one of the things I love the most about you. You’re an inspiration to so many and such an incredible mother.”

‘A little tight’

Weeks later, Williams added a new entry to the “Diary of a Denim Skirt.”

“Ok everyone the jean skirt is baaaaaaackkkkkk. Paris was fun, but I gotta see if I can fit in this skirt yet – saying a little prayer…lol,” she writes in the post on July 1.

This time, the skirt fit over her butt and she jokes, “who in the world can fit in these skirts?”

After buttoning the skirt, the Olympian struggles with the zipper and tells her fans she’s “made a lot of progress.”

“I’m not as sad, I’m not even disappointed. Honestly, I got it over my butt. It’s a little tight… I can’t really breathe,” she shares.

‘Ozempic is so awesome’

Her biggest transformation was revealed in early August where she’s seen in a series of showing off her slim waistline and toned physique.

Fans jumped into the comments section, this time begging to see a final clip of her effortlessly slipping into the denim skirt.

“That denim skirt is [going to] fall off of you now!! Looking amazing,” writes one cyber fan. A second shares, “You look amazing and I know you can fit in that long denim skirt now,” while a third writes, “Oh yes it’s over for that denim skirt lol.”

But some fans are convinced that the athlete – who’s been training since she was only four – used the weight loss drug Ozempic to complement the treatment she had in Paris.

Ozempic and a similar drug, Wegovy, are weekly shots that cause the body to produce insulin, which lowers blood sugar, slows digestion and makes people feel full.

“Wait what! You did Ozempic?” charges one fan, while a second writes, “Ozempic is so awesome.”

“Did you hear it from her?” asks one follower.

Many online users responded to the accusations and defended the tennis star, who at this time has not confirmed or denied rumors.

“Just hear me out, she’s an athlete who had a child and then got back into shape. Not everyone who loses weight does it via Ozempic,” shares one. A second writes, “Everyone is not on Ozempic, Serena works out and weight lifts. She could certainly lose the weight on her own merit.”

Another adds, “Ozempic won’t give you that muscle tone. She clearly lifted weights.”