Ritual has a new team member on board. On Wednesday, the supplement company announced Serena Williams as its first women’s health advisor. The tennis legend, who retired from the sport in 2022 with 23 grand slam titles, will work with Ritual behind the scenes by testing and advising on new products.
“[Serena Williams] was our North Star of somebody that we wanted to partner with at Ritual,” said Ritual founder and CEO Katerina Schneider. “We wanted her to play a deeper role in the brand, which is why we’ve given her the title of our first women’s health advisor. We’re excited for her to use her platform to be more vocal about wellness, in general, and we’re also excited for her to have access to our products first and give us feedback.”
While athletes have long since served as ambassadors for consumer brands, they are an increasing presence in the beauty and wellness spheres. Companies like Sephora, Paula’s Choice and Tatcha have all tapped female athletes and sports leagues in recent months. Ritual served as the official protein partner for the National Women’s Soccer League team Angel City FC from 2022 to the 2024 season.
“[Athletes] are expected to perform at the highest levels, both mentally and physically,” said Schneider. “That translates to how consumers view and aspire to and trust athletes for what they’re putting in and on their bodies.”
Tennis, in particular, has broken through to a more mainstream audience. The 2025 Wimbledon tournament achieved its highest average viewership since 2019 — the last time Serena Williams was in the finals.
Schneider said she is excited to have Williams on board at a time when tennis is gaining cultural momentum, but the brand doesn’t plan to make specific reference to tennis in regard to Williams’s role in the brand.
Williams joins numerous celebrities who, rather than just acting as spokespeople or ambassadors, are joining beauty and wellness brands on a deeper level. In 2024, Pamela Anderson was named co-founder and co-owner of the skin-care brand Sonsie, while Selma Blair was named chief creative officer of Guide Beauty in 2023.
“Consumers have become smarter in seeing through surface-level transactional endorsements,” said Schneider. “Where we’ve seen a lot of celebrities make money, actually, and athletes, as well, is when they start their own brands or are deeply partnered with brands. … What else is going to increase is the era of more authentic partnership, where people are like, ‘Hey, I like this product. I take it, I use it. This is the thing I like. How do I get more deeply involved here.’”
Ritual, first founded in 2015, has been growing its own profile, as well. The brand achieved $250 million in gross revenue in 2024 and announced a new clinical trial on its Prenatal Multivitamin in April. On Monday, Ritual expanded to Ulta Beauty, joining 300 stores across the country. Ulta is also the exclusive retailer for Williams’s makeup brand, Wyn Beauty.
“We’re building an iconic brand, something that’s going to last forever. We’re not taking shortcuts. We’re not doing marketing for marketing’s sake,” said Schneider. “Partnering with someone that is actually an icon and the greatest at what they do levels this brand up in a way that’s faster than maybe we would get there on our own.”
