The rumors of Serena Williams possibly returning to tennis have gone sky high since the news of the American re-entering ITIA's testing pool, so it would be nice to recall what she said in one of her interviews given just months after retiring.
In her farewell tournament at the 2022 US Open, a 41-year-old Williams defeated former world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit before falling just short to Ajla Tomljanovic in a three-set third-round match.
Although the 2022 US Open was supposed to be Williams' career-last tournament, she dropped multiple hints that indicated that might not be the last of her. Then, in February 2023, the American tennis icon conducted an interview with E! News, during which she very openly admitted to feeling tempted to return to tennis.
Williams: I feel torn because I'm still able to play at a very high level
"I for sure feel more at peace now. It's interesting. I think I feel torn because I'm still able to play at a very, very, very high level. With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level. But it's hard because it's like, 'Oh my gosh, I could still play, and I could still do all that stuff.'….But I'm inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it," the former 23-time Grand Slam champion told E! News in February 2023.
On Tuesday, tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg reported that Williams is once again in ITIA's doping pool – that means that the 44-year-old made herself available to the anti-doping authorities.
Big breaking news at Bounces:
Serena Williams has applied for reinstatement to tennis, adding herself back into the tennis anti-doping program to set herself up for a comeback to competition in 2026.
Read all the details here:https://t.co/m5JQaLLv62
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) December 2, 2025
A couple of hours later, Williams shut down the comeback talks.
Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) December 2, 2025
