"Tennis great Serena Williams took to X on Tuesday to insist that she is not planning a return to the court, hours after news broke that she has re-entered the sport's drug-testing pool. "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back," the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote. "This wildfire is crazy-" Williams played her last match on Sept. 2, 2002, a loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the U.S. Open."
"Serena Williams' re-registration with tennis' drug-testing agency sparked immediate comeback speculation, three years after she stepped away from professional tennis. The tennis great quickly dismissed the speculation on social media, writing "I'm NOT coming back" but offering no explanation for the move. Tennis rules require retired players to register with the anti-doping agency six months before returning to sanctioned events."
"An ITIA spokesperson confirmed to The Times on Tuesday that Williams is back in the agency's drug-testing pool. Retired players "may not return to sanctioned events unless they have made themselves available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months prior to the event in question," according to the ITIA website. That is why talk of a potential Williams comeback was spreading like "wildfire" before the 44-year-old attempted to extinguish the flames on X."
Serena Williams re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency drug-testing pool, prompting immediate speculation about a comeback three years after she stepped away from professional tennis. She posted on X, "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back," and added "This wildfire is crazy-" while offering no explanation for re-registering. Williams played her last match on Sept. 2, 2002, a U.S. Open third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic, and registered as retired with the ITIA the following day, which removed her from regular testing. An ITIA spokesperson confirmed her return to the testing pool and cited the six-month availability requirement before returning to sanctioned events.
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