Serena Williams Under Fire From Tennis World After Repeated GLP-1 Ads at Cincinnati Open

As the Cincinnati Open kicked off this week, fans are thrilled for Serena Williams’ doubles reunion with her sister, Venus Williams. After four years away, the 23-time Grand Slam winner made a return to the court this year during the grass court season. As she and Venus are set for their first match tomorrow, a bizarre ad that features Serena has quickly stolen the spotlight, sparking backlash across the tennis world.

Serena Williams’ GLP-1 Promotion at Cincinnati Open Draws Strong Reactions From Tennis World

For two days, a plane circled the skies above the courts in Ohio, pulling a massive commercial banner. The advertisement was for the telehealth company Ro, featuring Serena, who recently became an ambassador for the company’s GLP-1 weight-loss medication campaign, injecting herself with the product.

Williams has faced criticism after revealing that she used the GLP-1 weight-loss medication Zepbound, which she said helped with postpartum weight loss and blood sugar management. However, many criticized it for promoting unrealistic beauty standards and normalizing the use of weight-loss drugs for people without severe medical needs.

Tennis broadcaster Blair Henley echoed the sentiment with another photo of the plane, simply stating that Serena was ‘injecting herself from the skies in Cincy.’

The Guardian sports journalist Tumaini Carayol shared a photo of the banner on X, noting that it was day two of the banner being flown over the grounds.

The viral stunt also drew backlash from fans. An X user, Dev Patel, posted that he literally argued that her return is just a marketing campaign for weight loss drugs.

Williams made a surprising decision to come back to the WTA Tour during the grass court swing. She played doubles at the HSBC Championships and in Berlin before getting injured in her first-round match at Wimbledon, while she lost to Maya Joint.

The Williams Sisters were scheduled to reunite at the All England Club, but they had to postpone because of the 44-year-old’s injury.

Another user, @RobbinMilne, wrote, “This is why I can’t stand her. She retired and came back being paid to promote this crap. This shouldn’t be allowed. Also her husband is making money off that product too. Ridiculous.”

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@Bob876257947887 chimed in to say that while Serena is an amazing athlete, she is a ‘terrible role model’ for promoting drug use for financial gain.

Justin Frederic summed up the fans’ disappointment, questioning why one of the greatest athletes of all time is cheapening her image in this way.

The 14-time doubles Grand Slam champions are now set to face the duo of Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.