During this year's Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, fans noticed that Serena Williams promoted a GLP-1 weight loss drug.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, has partnered with telehealth company Ro to promote its FDA-approved products. The legendary tennis player revealed that she lost 34 pounds in a year due to her treatment with Ro.
"I'm on Ro. 34 pounds down on Ro. Healthier on Ro. Supported by Ro. FDA-approved, GLP-1 options now even in a pill," she said, via Newsweek. "Weight loss expertise that I trust. I'm moving better on Ro. I'm feeling better on Ro. I'm Serena Williams. This is me on Ro."
Judging by some of the comments being made on social media this week, Williams struck a nerve with her Super Bowl ad.
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"Presenting the most disappointing female athlete of all time - Serena Williams Marrying a billionaire wasn’t enough? You need more so you push this poison on us? Take your jabs and your advice elsewhere," one person replied.
"Serena Williams can be doing so much to champion women’s sports or the importance of body positivity but instead is pushing a weight loss drug in her retirement," a fan wrote on X.
"Serena has plenty of money and her husband has plenty of money yet everytime I turn my tv on I gotta see one of our greats twerking to get yall to sign up to get ozempic?" a second fan added. "Idk man. It's nasty IMO."
"Serena Williams appeared in an advertisement during the Super Bowl promoting GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. Let that sink in," another person said. "An athlete whose greatness was built on discipline, sacrifice, pain tolerance, repetition, and relentless personal effort— endorsing a shortcut that removes those very principles. I am approaching the situation with compassion and empathy. But the answer to mass obesity cannot be for millions of people to be on powerful drugs for the rest of their lives that force their bodies to stop eating."
Will Serena return to the WTA Tour?
According to multiple reports, Williams reentered the testing pool for the International Tennis Integrity Agency in 2025. That led many people to believe that she's coming out of retirement.
“Per protocol, Williams officially declared herself retired with the ITIA in 2022, which meant she would no longer be subjected to routine drug testing,” ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine wrote. “Her name remains listed on the site as retired, but she would be eligible to return to competition and be listed as a reinstated player following six months of being an active player in the pool. Those players — which includes most in the top 100 — must provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing. It is unclear why Williams would subject herself to such strict monitoring if she was not considering playing again.”
It was then announced this week that Williams is eligible to return to competition on Feb. 22.
Williams, 44, hasn't appeared in a match since the third round of the 2022 US Open. We'll see if she makes a comeback later this season.