Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE

Serena Williams shows off her svelte silhouette in a stunning spread for the August issue of Harper’s Bazaar, on newsstands July 20.

ON COMMON: They broke up in April. “His schedule is actually worse than mine,” she sighs. “He didn’t want the responsibility. It’s really tough.” Common then began promoting his latest film, heaping enough praise on Williams that people assumed they were still on. (“Beautiful, intelligent woman, fun and spiritual woman. I think she’s an incredible person,” he told Access Hollywood.)

Williams looks befuddled — befuddled but coquettish. “So I called him and I was like, Why are you saying all this stuff when we’re not together?”

ON HER PHYSIQUE: “When I was six or seven in a swimsuit — I look back at those picture, and my arms are cut and my legs are strong,” she says. “I didn’t realize that I was really fit and most people aren’t. To this day, I don’t love my arms. People want more fit arms, but my arms are too fit. But I’m not complaining. They pay my bills.”

“I was 23 when I realized that I wasn’t Venus. She’s totally different,” she explains. “I’m super-curvy. I have big boobs and this massive butt. She’s tall and she’s like a model and she fits everything. I was growing up, wanting to be her, wanting to look like her, and I was always fitting in her clothes, but then one day I couldn’t.” She pauses. “But it’s fine. Now I’m obviously good, but it’s a weird thing.”

ON FITNESS: After she won the Australian Open in January, “I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight. So I’ve been doing Pilates and yoga, trying to lean out my body so I won’t be bulky.” Her regimen: Pilates two or three times a week and when she’s training for a tournament, “a couple of hours of hitting, then an hour or two of cardio and strengthening in the gym.”

Also, when she’s at home in L.A., she runs the half mile up a hill to Venus’s house instead of driving. But no dieting. “I don’t even know the D word,” she says with a laugh. There is a training eating plan, though: “Smaller portions of every meal, a lot of grilled or baked chicken or fish, and steamed veggies.” Her weakness? “I can never turn down a good piece of cherry pie, but,” she continues, “all I know is that in 10 years, I don’t want to be as wide as this couch.”

UPDATE: Common Confirms He’s A Single Man

VIDEO: Common “Definitely” Wants To Marry Serena?

The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.