Serena Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam titles in singles, retired from professional tennis in 2022, winning her last Grand Slam in 2017, failing to clinch the elusive 24th major title that would have put her in line with Margaret Court in the history books. However, this week, speculation reignited about a comeback... and she had to deny it on Twitter:
"Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy", Williams posted, 44 years old, posted.
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Speculation arose after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed on Tuesday that she was one of the players included in their anti-doping testing pool, which requires players to reveal their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing, mandatory to be included in official tournaments.
However, the ITIA also places Serena Williams in the list of retired players. It is unclear why she would be included in the anti-doping testing pool if she does not intend to compete, which has raised many questions. But if in the future she wanted to make an official comeback to a sanctioned tournament, she would be cleared at least by the ITIA standards, but she has not played since 2022, where she said on Vogue that she would move "away" from tennis.
Serena Williams recently received an honorary award in Spain for her lifetime achievements. Her older sister Venus Williams, 45 years old, still competes to this day, returning on several wildcards like the Washington Open. She didn't win much, but enjoyed a standing ovation at the US Open.