Serena Williams is planning to tackle a new challenge after going on an “intense” weight loss journey.

The retired tennis legend shared her progress while putting on a dress that previously didn’t fit her.

Since retiring from professional tennis in 2022, Williams has been busy. She gave birth to her second child, Adira, and has been working on her businesses, launching a makeup brand this year.

And the 23-time Grand Slam champion now has something else occupying her – a weight loss journey. Williams took to TikTok to celebrate her progress as she tried on a wrap dress.

“So I used to not be able to fit this dress at all, like I literally couldn’t even close it,” she said.

“It would come like here and I physically couldn’t close it. So now, not only can I close it, it almost comes too far over. So I’m really excited.”

Explaining how she managed to drop the weight, the former world No. 1 revealed that she’d gotten into running. And she’s now keen to tick some milestone distances off her list.

Williams continued: “I’ve been training a lot. I’ve been running. I’m training for a 5k, then I’m going to do a 10k and then I want to do a half-marathon.

“So it’s really paying off and I really like this dress just for a cosy day at home, right? So fun.”

And the 43-year-old had an inspiring message for her followers. She added: “So keep going, if you’re working out, you can do it too. If I can do it, you can do it, you’re way better than me.”

In the caption, Williams also wrote: “I have been on an intense weight, loss journey, and working out like crazy.

“I wakeup at five to get to the gym and it’s finally starting to pay off. Life is a journey so is weight loss, not a destination. If you’re on the same journey, I’m wishing you well.”

The tennis icon’s progress is especially impressive given that she’s recently gone under the knife. Williams took to social media to announce that she had surgery to remove a cyst the “size of a grapefruit”.

The American found a mass on her neck in May and originally chose not to get it removed but it continued to grow. “I decided to get more test and 3 test and one biopsy later everything is still negative but doctors advised I get it removed asap because it was the size of a small grapefruit and it could get infected or worse leak,” she explained.