Telehealth company Ro has tapped tennis star Serena Williams as a celebrity patient ambassador for its weight-loss treatments, the company said Thursday.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, will headline a multi-year national marketing campaign for GLP-1 drugs, a company spokesperson said.
“I don’t take shortcuts,” Williams said in an NBC News interview, adding that her efforts to lose weight before turning to GLP-1 treatments included professional tennis training.
“I was doing everything right … but my body wasn’t responding the way it used to,” she said.
Williams said in an advertisement that after struggling to lose post-baby weight, the treatments helped her lose 31 pounds (14 kg) – her first time speaking out about using them, Ro said.
“Serena knows people may be surprised to learn that she would use a GLP-1, and that’s exactly why we think she is the perfect person to share her story,” said a Ro spokesperson.
Ro said Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of social media site Reddit, is an investor in the company and serves on its board.
GLP-1 drugs promote weight loss by reducing appetite and causing the stomach to empty more slowly. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound have been shown to reduce weight by around 20%.
Ro, which sells both drugs through its weight-loss program, said Williams was on a branded GLP-1 but declined to say which one.
