For the past two weeks, the National Bank Open has delivered plenty of action on court. But this week, fans in Toronto found themselves distracted by something that had little to do with tennis. The words “Ozempic, semaglutide injection” were prominently displayed on perimeter boards behind the baseline at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, along with the image of a weight-loss drug ad featuring elite athletes in the middle of a rally, raising a lot of questions online.

The tipping point for the backlash came when a fan posted a picture of the posters with the caption, “ozempic ads right behind the players are we deada**”, a comment that spread rapidly among tennis fans, who were wondering how the deal was possible in the first place.

It turns out the sponsorship is legitimate, as the tournament’s official page confirms a corporate partnership with Ozempic, one partner among 90 total partners this year, including 24 newly signed for the 2026 edition itself. 

Ozempic is the brand name of semaglutide, which is a medication originally developed and approved to treat blood sugar in individuals with type 2 diabetes. It’s famously known for its weight loss properties, and it does so by slowing digestion and helping regulate appetite. The National Bank Open’s sponsorship banners also included Wegovy, the specific weight loss drug from the same pharmaceutical firm. 

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It’s become a cultural phenomenon in the past two years, and has been featured in discussions about body image, celebrity weight loss and, more recently, corporate sponsorship beyond the healthcare industry.

And if anything, athletes are usually expected to take the “natural” route when it comes to staying fit, often steering clear of weight-loss drugs and other medications. But ever since Serena Williams openly discussed using GLP-1 medication for weight loss, the approach has remained a divisive one in the tennis world, with plenty of people still unconvinced.

People taking GLP-1 drugs often report a noticeable drop in “food noise”, that constant mental chatter about the next meal or snack, which can contribute to significant weight loss.

But where these drugs stand in sport is still an open question. WADA has no set timeline for deciding whether GLP-1s could be considered performance-enhancing, though its List Expert Advisory Group has already discussed their status alongside other drugs in the same class. Tennis’ anti-doping program is managed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), while WADA oversees compliance with its code because tennis is an Olympic sport.

However, placing a weight-loss drug ad prominently in front of athletes struck many fans as inappropriate and contradictory. But this is not a new partnership; it existed last year and received similar criticism during the tournament. However, Tennis Canada has continued the partnership in 2026 despite the discomfort it generated for the audience.

Fans show disappointment with the ad placement at Canadian Open

There were many reactions online, some of them not so pleasant, others a resigned quip about the state of sports sponsorship as a whole. “It’s dystopian,” one fan wrote, while other fans echoed the same sentiment, thinking the pairing had a rather problematic message about the direction of sports ads.

Others were more forthright about their own distaste. “This is insidious,” wrote one fan, and another simply stated, “I really hate it.” This isn’t a usual sponsorship, but something more like a calculated and disturbing placement move.

A few fans centered on the fact that the setting and the product itself seemed to be disconnected. It was impossible to miss the sign, whether in person or on broadcast, and one attendee wrote, “I noticed the damn sign immediately when I was there. Sad world we’re living in.”

“Better than the gambling ads surely?” one fan asked, pointing to a wider conflict that exists in the sponsorship world over the use of gambling advertising to promote sport, and which has been the subject of sharper criticism. It left some of its fans to see a pharmaceutical advertisement as the lesser of two bad choices, not something to be cheered for.

Ozempic is not a banned substance under WADA, but to advertise a fat loss drug in an athletic environment just did not sit right with the fans, and that exact emotion was the reason behind the backlash.