Serena Williams re-enters testing pool but insists she has no plans to return

Serena Williams has triggered speculation over a potential comeback after filing the required documents to rejoin tennis’s anti-doping programme, only to insist hours later that she has no intention of returning to competition, Sport360NG reports.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who stepped away from the sport after the 2022 US Open, has been reinstated on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s registered testing pool. The ITIA confirmed to BBC Sport that the 44-year-old appears on its latest list, published on 6 October.

Her reappearance prompted immediate questions about a potential comeback, as reinstatement makes players eligible for out-of-competition testing, a prerequisite for any return to the professional circuit.

But Williams moved quickly to shut down the speculation, posting on social media: “I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”

Why she sought to be re-added to the pool remains unclear. The process requires players to be available for testing for six months before they can officially compete again, meaning a theoretical return would not be possible before April.

Williams famously avoided the term “retirement,” saying in 2022 that she was “evolving away” from the sport. Her farewell run at the US Open that year drew high-profile attention, with figures such as Bill Clinton, Billie Jean King, Tiger Woods and Mike Tyson watching her final matches. She eventually bowed out in the third round, losing to Ajla Tomljanovic after a dramatic three-hour battle in which she saved five match points.

Only Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic have won more Grand Slam singles titles than Williams, whose record includes seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six US Opens, the most major titles by any woman in the Open era.

Her older sister, Venus Williams, returned to competition earlier this year at age 45 after a 16-month absence, featuring in both singles and doubles at the US Open and reaching the women’s doubles quarter-finals alongside Leylah Fernandez.

The sisters, who together won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals, continue to inspire speculation about a possible reunion on court, even if Serena insists, for now, that no comeback is planned.