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Serena Williams graced a glamorous US Open party on Thursday night, rubbing shoulders with other tennis stars before the commencement of the tournament.
The event marked three years since the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion bid farewell to her career after a tough three-set loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in New York.
But she was back in the Big Apple as DraftKings and David Grutman threw a ‘Welcome To New York’ dinner at Crane Club in Manhattan.
Recently sharing her journey on significant weight loss, Williams made an appearance in a chic white halter neck top paired with a form-fitting midi skirt, posing alongside restaurant and hospitality tycoon Grutman.
She was joined by plenty of other tennis talent at the party, which featured a curated menu from Michelin Star Chef Melissa Rodriguez.
The likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Juan Martin del Potro and Nick Kyrgios also appeared at the event, which occurred just before the beginning of the US Open main draw this Sunday.
Serena Williams attended a party hosted by DraftKings and Dave Grutman on Thursday
Aryna Sabalenka was also there and showed off the new cover of Boardoom’s magazine with her on it
Williams also posed with Juan Martin del Potro at the star-studded event in Manhattan
Sabalenka also showed off the inaugural print magazine of Boardroom (the media company founded by Kevin Durant and his business partner Rich Kleiman), which she is on the cover of this month. Kleiman attended the party as well.
Overall, the stars of the tennis world seemed to enjoy their night as they enjoyed a custom cocktail menu and bites such as tuna tartare, Parmigiano-Reggiano-aged strip steak and dover sole.
The party came as the 43-year-old Williams opened up on her drastic weight loss journey on Thursday, revealing that she has shed 31 pounds over the course of the past year.
Williams’ revelation came just weeks after she posted a series of post-workout gym selfies, which showed off her ripped physique, sparked speculation that she had been using another popular drug, Ozempic.
Instead, Williams has actually been using weight loss drug Zepbound, a GLP-1 medication, according to Vogue.
GLP-1 is a natural hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite that is found in popular weight loss medication brands such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro as well as Zepbound.
Williams also opened up on the drug to People and the TODAY show, insisting that it had left her feeling light ‘physically and light mentally.’
Taylor Fritz and his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, wore coordinated black outfits to the event
The party was also attended by rising star Ben Shelton and Nick Kyrgios, who has pulled out of the US Open
The party was hosted at Crane Club in Manhattan ahead of the US Open main draw beginning
She said that she began to struggle with her weight after becoming a mother for the first time with the birth of her eldest daughter, Alexis Olympia, in 2017.
She dealt with similar postpartum struggles over the changes to her body following the birth of her second daughter Adira River in August 2023.
Williams explained that she would go through quick bursts of weight loss only for her weight to then remain stagnant regardless of the healthy lifestyle she was accustomed to maintaining as a professional athlete.
That’s when she approached health care company Ro, for which she is a paid spokesperson and her husband is an investor in, for guidance on GLP-1 medication.
‘I never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained,’ she told People. ‘It was crazy because I’d never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.’
‘I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best,’ she added. ‘So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked.’
Williams has recently opened up on her drastic weight loss – saying that she lost 31 pounds
The 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted that she has been using a weight loss drug
However, Williams, who is married to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, acknowledged the stigma surrounding weight loss drugs, insisting that shedding some pounds should ‘never really change your self image.’
‘I’ve never felt that pressure to maintain a certain appearance,’ she admits.
‘I always felt comfortable at any size, whether I was a lot heavier or not. I do feel like my body didn’t like me at that weight. I had pain in my joints and pain in different areas just because of the extra weight that I’m not used to carrying since I had children.
Over her illustrious career, Serena spent 319 weeks as world No. 1 – and her sister, Venus, 45, is still going strong.
The older Williams sister played this week in the US Open’s revamped mixed doubles competition, and is set to compete in the singles draw as well after receiving a wild card.
Venus will face Karolina Muchova on Monday.
