Serena Williams has returned to the tennis anti-doping testing pool, but the 23-time Grand Slam champion insisted Tuesday that the move has nothing to do with a comeback to the sport she ruled for nearly two decades.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency told Reuters that Williams – absent from competition since the 2022 U.S. Open – is once again listed in its testing pool, which requires athletes to submit daily whereabouts and undergo random checks.
But as news of the 44-year-old’s inclusion, first reported by The Athletic, fueled speculation about a possible return, Williams quickly took to social media to shut down the chatter, making clear she has no plans to step back onto the tour.
“Omg y’all I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment on why she had re-entered the testing pool.
Williams’ name appears on the ITIA website’s list of retired players, and she would be eligible to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
Last week, the former world No. 1 posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023.
In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.”
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record.
The American came tantalizingly close to achieving that feat, reaching four major finals after giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017.
