Serena Williams โคDismissesโ Return to professional Tennis Despite Anti-Doping Registration
Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand slam champion, hasโ firmly denied any plans โฃto return toโข professionalโฃ tennis,โค clarifying speculation sparked by her recent enrollment โคin the International Tennis Integrityโฃ Agency (ITIA)’s โanti-doping control โคandโ tracing program in October. โThe ITIA program requires six months of participation for anyโ retired player intending to re-enter competition.
News of the โฃregistration, initially reported by specialized media, fueled rumors of a potential comeback, possibly alongside her sister venusโ Williams, โwho remains active on the WTA โขTour. However, Williams quicklyโค addressed the speculation on herโค Instagram โStories, stating, “Ohโ myโ god, I’m โคnot going back. This is crazy,” accompanied byโข laughing โฃand denial emojis.
Sources close toโค Williams indicate her ITIAโค registration is a precautionary administrative step,โค allowing for โขpotential participation in โexhibition events โฃor โa farewell event with Venus inโค 2026, without a formal return to the tour. Completing โฃthe six-month requirement by April 2026 would allow her to accept such invitations without further procedures.
Williams initially stepped away โขfrom professional play after the โ2022 US Open, whereโ she lost in the third round to Ajla Tomljanoviฤ. At the time, she described her departure as an “evolution” โฃtowards other ventures,โฃ including her business interestsโข and role as a motherโ of two daughters.
Venus Williams, โ45, โขcontinues to โcompete, having played four tournaments in 2025, most โคrecently โคin Indian Wells in March. She has โขpreviously expressed aโ desire โคto share a final matchโฃ with โSerena, ideally at Wimbledon or the US Open.
Registration in the ITIA program is a common practice for retired tennis legends who wish to remainโ eligible forโค exhibition matches orโ special events, following a similar path taken by Roger Federer, Kim Clijsters, and Caroline Wozniacki. As of now, โno tournament has confirmed offering โSerena Williams a wild card for the 2026 season.
The WTA hasโ not released a statementโ on the matter, and Williams reiteratedโฃ onโข Thursday that her competitiveโ career concluded in 2022. Throughout her illustrious career, Serena Williams achieved 23 Grand Slam singles titles (an open Era record), โ14 Grand Slam doubles titlesโ withโ Venus, four Olympic gold medals, and held theโ world number 1 ranking โfor 319 weeks.
