New Delhi [India], December 3 : Tennis legend Serena Williams clarified on Tuesday that she is "NOT coming back" to professional tennis despite her recent registration with the sport's anti-doping body, fueling speculation about a possible comeback, according to Olympics.com.
Serena has re-enrolled with the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), fueling speculation about an unexpected return to competition for the 23-time women's singles major champion and four-time Olympic gold medallist--three of those earned in doubles with her sister, Venus Williams.
However, Serena, in an X post, said "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy."
The 44-year-old Serena has not competed since her third-round loss at the 2022 U.S. Open--her home Grand Slam--where she was defeated by Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.
That result left the Michigan-born star just one major title shy of the all-time singles record of 24, shared by Margaret Court in women's tennis and Novak Djokovic on the men's side.
She never explicitly announced her "retirement," instead saying she was "evolving away from tennis," and updating her X bio to describe herself as a "tennis player turned venture capitalist investor."
Speculation about a return intensified after it emerged that she had submitted the required forms to make herself available for random drug testing, including designating a specific daily one-hour window during which testers can locate her.
According to Olympics.com, ITIA spokesperson Adrian Bassett told The Athletic that Serena has asked to re-enter the drug-testing pool. He said he isn't sure whether this signals a comeback or simply keeps the option open, but confirmed she is now subject to standard whereabouts requirements.
"She has notified us that she wants to be reinstated into the testing pool. I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option. All I can say is she's back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts," wrote Basset in a text to The Athletic as per Olympics.com.