Tennis icon Serena Williams has issued a firm denial of any plans for a professional comeback, after a report suggested she was preparing to return to the sport.
The Spark of Speculation
The rumours began on Tuesday, 2nd December 2025, when a report from The Athletic revealed that Williams's name had reappeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency's (ITIA) registered testing pool list. This list comprises athletes who must be available for random, out-of-competition drug tests and are required to provide detailed whereabouts information for any given day and time.
Such an administrative move is standard for active professional players, so its appearance for the retired champion quickly fuelled speculation about a potential return to the WTA Tour.
"Omg yall I’m NOT coming back"
Williams moved swiftly to extinguish the growing speculation. Taking to the social media platform X, she posted a clear and direct message just hours after the report was published.
"Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-," the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion wrote.
In her post, she did not explicitly confirm or deny whether her name was indeed on the ITIA list, focusing instead on shutting down the narrative of a sporting return. The statement left no room for interpretation, marking a definitive end to the swirling rumours.
A Retirement For Family
Williams, now 43, officially stepped away from professional tennis in 2022. She announced her decision in a deeply personal essay for Vogue magazine, stating she would retire after that year's US Open to focus on her family.
She is married to Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, and the couple have two children. In her essay, Williams spoke candidly about the difficult choice between her career and family, highlighting a double standard she perceived.
"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family," she wrote. "I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family."
Since her retirement, Williams has invested her time in venture capital, fashion, and family life, showing no public indication of a desire to compete at the highest level again. Her latest statement reinforces that her legendary playing career remains firmly in the past.
