Serena Williams has dismissed growing speculation that she is planning a return to professional tennis, after news broke that she had been re-listed in the sport’s official drug-testing pool.
The 44-year-old tennis icon, who last competed at the 2022 US Open, reassured fans on Tuesday, December 2, that she has no intention of staging a comeback, despite widespread reports fuelled by her updated testing status.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed her name had recently reappeared on the Registered Testing Pool. “It is correct that she is back on the Registered Testing Pool list… At this stage we have no other information,” ITIA spokesperson Adrian Bassett told AFP in London.
But Williams quickly shut down the rumours on X, posting: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”
Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, previously said she was “evolving away from tennis” after her emotional third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open. Her exit left her just one title shy of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
Under anti-doping rules, players returning to competition must undergo six months of mandatory testing and provide detailed daily location updates; a system Williams’ critics took as a sign of a possible return. She has now clarified that this is not the case.
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