The National Bank Open 2026 stretched over 13 days and delivered plenty of tennis action on court. However, it ended with the final few days being talked about, not simply for the matches, but for something more that distracted the fans at this event. As the words “Ozempic, semaglutide injection” were prominently displayed on perimeter boards behind the baseline at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, they triggered strong reactions from tennis fans.

The board displays, alongside an image of a weight-loss drug ad featuring elite athletes in the middle of a rally, raised eyebrows. However, the backlash reached a tipping point when a fan posted a picture of the posters with the caption, “Ozempic ads right behind the players, are we deada**?” The post quickly spread over social media, who questioned how the deal had been approved in the first place.

But it turns out the sponsorship is legitimate. 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, celebrating a record-breaking year.

Ozempic is the brand name of semaglutide, which is a medication originally developed 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. 

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time the mention of GLP-1 has come up in the tennis world…

In 2025, Serena Williams openly discussed using GLP-1 medication for weight loss. As reported by Vogue, she mentioned, “I feel like a lot of people have this stigma on GLP-1s and say things like, ‘Oh, lazy people do it… I know for a fact from my experience that it’s simply not true.”

Ever since, Front Office Sports recently reported that advertisements featuring Serena Williams for GLP-1 medications provided by online pharmacy Ro were to be aired on the Tennis Channel during her return to competitive tennis at the HSBC Championships.

Ironically, it’s not even the first time that Ozempic is raising eyebrows as a sponsor. Back in 2024, Ozempic was reportedly one of CBC’s sponsors for its Olympics coverage. Even for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games, these ads showed up during CBC’s Olympic coverage as per fans.

While Ozempic has 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, a question rises: are these drugs allowed?

Well, where these drugs stand in sport is still an open debate.

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 focused 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.