Pregnant Serena Williams shares 'words of wisdom' as she opens up about body image struggles

Serena Williams recently shared words of wisdom as she opened up about struggling with her body image during pregnancy.

Williams, who is the mother to five-year-old daughter Olympia, announced that she is pregnant with her second child with husband Alexis Ohanian earlier this month. The 23-time Grand Slam champion made the big revelation by showing off her baby bump during her 2023 MET Gala appearance, where she dazzled in a Gucci look.

Serena Williams recently took to social media to make a confession. She revealed that she doesn’t always feel confident about herself, more so when clicking pictures while being pregnant.

“Being confident is not always easy. Not even for me! Especially taking pics and being pregnant!” she said in her latest post on Instagram.

The 41-year-old also remarked that sometimes, it is the close ones that are responsible for low self-confidence.

“Sometimes people close to you will try to take your joy,” Williams said.

Serena Williams, however, stated that one should never be “afraid” to shine regardless.

“But it’s important to remember who you are and never be afraid to shine. #wordsofwisdom,” the American noted.

---

"I definitely was not comfortable with my body" – Serena Williams discusses body image issues she faced as a teenager

Serena Williams at the 1999 US Open

Serena Williams has been known for unbreakable confidence over the years. The tennis legend, however, once hinted that confidence wasn’t always an aspect of her personality.

During a 2017 TED Talk, the former World No. 1 said that she had to deal with public scrutiny as a teenager, in regard to her muscular build, and struggled with body image issues.

“When you're a teenage female growing up in the public eye, it's a lot of scrutiny that you face,” she said during the conversation with Gayle King.

“As any female that's a teenager, I definitely was not comfortable with my body, I didn't like it," Serena Williams said. “I didn't understand why I had muscles and I stopped lifting weights. I was like, 'I'm not gonna do this.'”

The American, however, revealed that her outlook changed soon after she won the US Open in 1999. Williams stated that she started respecting and appreciating her body, having understood that being ‘healthy’ had played a huge part in her success.

“But after I won US Open, I realized that my body helped me reach goals that I wanted to reach. I wanted to be happy with it and I was so appreciative of it, I am always healthy,” she said.

She stated that she wishes to be an inspiration for young girls dealing with similar issues.

“Not only am I happy with my body but I want other people and other young girls who experienced what I experienced, to be happy with themselves,” she added.