Just last week, when Sydney Sweeney’s Novig ad campaign rolled out, women athletes worldwide couldn’t help but notice. For many, the campaign brought the long-running conversation around body image back to the fore, reopening a discussion that female athletes have had to confront for years. And while athletes from different sports have already shared their thoughts, 28-year-old Australian WTA pro Priscilla Hon has now joined the conversation.
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In her latest Instagram post, Hon responded to the campaign with strong feelings, rejecting the way the advertisement appeared to reduce female athletes to their appearance. The Australian didn’t shy away from calling out what she felt the campaign got wrong.
“Sydney Sweeney looks amazing, and honestly good for her. But this isn’t about her or her body. Young girls already grow up feeling like they have to look a certain way,” the Aussie penned in her message.
Hon also spoke about body image and how such portrayals can shape the way young female players view themselves. “They’re constantly being shown what the “perfect” body is supposed to look like, and sport should be one of the places that teaches them their bodies are about what they can DO, not how they look.”
“We should be showing the next generation that being strong, talented and capable is enough. They don’t need another reason to believe their body is what makes them valuable,” she added.
Notably, the controversy emerged after Sweeney’s commercial for sports prediction platform Novig was released. In the commercial, the actress appears with minimal clothing, posing with different athletic equipment, including a tennis racket and balls. The way the advertisement portrayed Sweeney as an athlete has sparked anger across the wider sports community.
However, the controversy escalated further after Sweeney attempted to defend the campaign on her Instagram stories. She posted old covers of ESPN Magazine’s Body Issue with the portraits of athletes such as Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird. She implied that her commercial was simply a copy of those well-known nude displays of athletes. Athletes and supporters, however, rejected the comparison as tone‑deaf.
ESPN’s Body Issue celebrated muscles, powerful movement, and the many body shapes needed to compete at an elite level. The athletes who posed for those shoots showed the machinery they built over decades of training. Sweeney’s commercial used nudity to market a sports trading platform with the slogan “just looked good” while holding sporting goods.
Following this, several female athletes have spoken out, arguing that the campaign presents women in sports through a sexualized lens, reducing years of hard work and dedication to their appearance.
Sweeney’s Novig Ad Sparks a Bigger Conversation
Within days of the ad campaign hitting screens, a wave of perspectives from female players began making the rounds online.
Hon’s compatriot and four-time Olympic gold medalist Ariarne Titmus also voiced her frustration over the campaign, stating, “I wasn’t going to share this as I didn’t want to give this any more attention. But I can’t keep my mouth shut.”
She further added, “I can’t describe how infuriated I feel when I watch this. Not only is this a kick in the face to every woman who has dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every woman who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellence, unity … the list goes on.”
The player’s strong words point out why the commercial has upset so many people. Female pros spend years training their bodies and improving skills while dealing with mental pressure to play at the highest level. Showing an unclothed image where sports equipment is just for decoration removes the real effort and mocks the real challenges athletes face.
Like Titmus, former USA Gymnast Gracie Kramer also criticized the advertisement, calling it infuriating. “I’ve spent my entire life competing in a sport where female athletes have been overs**ualized, reduced to our bodies, and forced to fight to be taken seriously for what we can actually do.”
Additionally, athletes’ frustration comes from years of problematic women’s sports marketing. For years, women’s sports have fought to stop ads that focused more on looks than on skills. From unrelated fashion rules on the court to sponsors using exploitative ideas, players have always pushed back to show that their value is in their performance.
And with Sweeney’s latest ad campaign, the body-image conversation has once again become a talking point across sports.