{"id":1745,"date":"2026-02-11T15:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1745"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:00:20","slug":"andy-roddick-backs-serena-williams-controversial-weight-loss-drug-deal-amid-comeback-rumours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=1745","title":{"rendered":"Andy Roddick backs Serena Williams\u2019 controversial weight-loss drug deal amid comeback rumours"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Andy Roddick has backed Serena Williams\u2019 endorsement of a weight-loss drug, amid increasing rumours of a comeback to professional tennis in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>In August 2025, the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed to PEOPLE magazine that she was actively taking GLP-1 medication to help speed up weight loss.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/serena-williams\">Williams<\/a>, she decided to utilise the product after struggling to lose the weight which she had gained during her second pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>The American tennis legend added, at the time, that she had lost more than 14 kilograms.<\/p>\n<p>More recently, she was featured in an advert which was promoting the use of the controversial weight-loss medication during the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>Her decision to take GLP-1 was further scrutinised after it was revealed that she had made herself available for six months of out-of-competition drug testing.<\/p>\n<p>This process must be followed by any retired player who is seeking a return to professional tennis, with Williams now officially eligible to compete from February 22 after being reinstated by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).<\/p>\n<p>Roddick, who is a former world No 1 and US Open champion, gave his full backing to Williams, adding that he would be taking the same action if he were attempting a comeback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho wouldn\u2019t welcome this? What are we psychos? What are we doing?\u201d said the American on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can tell you something that I think I know for a fact. I\u2019m not Serena, I can\u2019t play anymore, I stink.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd, if I decided that I wanted to come back, guess what I would be doing immediately? I would be dropping 20 lbs as fast as I can.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would be taking those drugs. You know what becomes easier when you\u2019re 20 lbs lighter? Getting back to the training that you need without getting injured, to get back on tour.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it shortens the timeline for training and mitigates a lot of the risk. The thing with getting back is that if you get injured while training repeatedly, you can\u2019t get back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you start training from a place of 25 lbs less. What\u2019s less likely to happen? Getting hurt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I was going to do it, I would absolutely do it [take the medication], and try to drop as much as possible before I get back to the training process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rumours around Williams\u2019 return were further intensified after she appeared to hint at a comeback during an appearance on the Today Show with Savannah Guthrie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know, I\u2019m just going to see what happens,\u201d the American stated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not a maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Latest Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/rafael-nadal-novak-djokovic-debate-patrick-mouratoglou-wrong\">Rafael Nadal addresses Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner debate and asserts Patrick Mouratoglou is \u2018wrong\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/when-will-novak-djokovic-play-next-after-withdrawing-from-qatar-open\">When will Novak Djokovic play next after withdrawing from Qatar Open?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jon Werthiem, who is the co-host of the podcast, shared a similar sentiment in regards to the use of weight-loss medication for professional tennis players.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve got to say, I think this is great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI looked into this, these GLP, weight loss drugs, are on a WADA monitor list, but they are legal, so that would not be an impediment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s great, I think she would be absolutely welcomed back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf this is writing more chapters, if this is about playing in front of her kids, this should not be a point of debate; this should be welcomed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s just a question now of what form it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wertheim also dropped a hint about the possible location of Williams\u2019 hypothetical comeback, speculating that it may not be a return to singles action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe learned our lesson from Lindsey Vonn to Novak [Djokovic],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Serena [Williams] still thinks she\u2019s got some juice that can be squeezed, go nuts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt would be one of the great tennis stories of 2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt certainly is looking that way, I\u2019ve heard various things, this is more a mixed doubles, or a return to Wimbledon, where she did not like the savour of her last match there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/andy-roddick-backs-serena-williams-controversial-weight-loss-drug-deal\">Andy Roddick backs Serena Williams\u2019 controversial weight-loss drug deal amid comeback rumours<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/\">Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andy Roddick has backed Serena Williams\u2019 endorsement of a weight-loss drug, amid increasing rumours of a comeback to professional tennis in 2026. In August 2025, the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed to PEOPLE magazine that she was actively taking GLP-1 medication to help speed up weight loss. According to Williams, she decided to utilise the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}