Serena Williams has clarified rumours about a potential tennis comeback.
The mother of two firmly denied on Tuesday, Dec. 2, that she plans to return to professional tennis, despite her name appearing on the sport’s drug-testing registry, which had sparked speculation of a dramatic return.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has not played since her third-round loss at the 2022 US Open, leaving her just one title shy of the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles held by Margaret Court in women’s tennis and Novak Djokovic in men’s tennis.
Adrian Bassett, spokesperson for the International Tennis Integrity Agency—the sport’s drug-testing body—confirmed to AFP in London that Serena is indeed back on the Registered Testing Pool list, but added, “At this stage we have no other information.”
Williams took to X to put rumours to rest, writing: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”
After her three-set loss to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at Flushing Meadows three years ago, Williams explained that she preferred not to use the word “retiring,” saying instead that she was “evolving” away from tennis.
Players who choose to return to the testing pool must provide detailed information about their whereabouts for drug testing. They are also required to complete six months of testing before becoming eligible to compete again.
