Report: Serena Williams takes first steps toward a comeback to tennis

Serena Williams has quietly begun the first steps at an eventual tennis comeback, registering with the WTA’s official drug testing body according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency on Tuesday.

Here’s what you need to know.

Serena Williams

The 44-year-old Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam champion and largely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. She last competed at the 2022 U.S. Open, saying she didn’t want to use the word “retiring”, instead describing it “evolving” away from tennis.

It’s not clear when, where, or even if Williams will return, but the move opens up the possibility of seeing her play sometime in 2026.

Wiliams was ranked No. 1 in women’s singles by the WTA for 319 weeks, third-most all-time, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Her 23 major women’s singles title is the most in the Open Era and she is the only player to complete the career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles.

“She is on the list and back in the testing pool,” ITIA spokesman Adrian Bassett said on Tuesday.

Adding Williams’ name to the testing pool means she will be required to provide details on her whereabouts when not at an official event and provide times when she is available to give samples.

A player who retires while on the list and later makes a comeback needs to be available for testing for six months before they are allowed to return to competition. That puts Williams’ earliest possible return at the start of June, roughly a month before Wimbledon.

Return to tennis

Williams looks to be following in the path of older sister Venus, who returned to competition in July at the age of 45 after a year and a half away from competition, although she hadn’t officially retired. Venus became the oldest to player to compete at the U.S. Open since 1981.

Venus, also a former world No. 1 and a former seven-time Grand Slam champion, returned at the DC Open and said she hoped Serena would join her on tour. The sisters won 14 Grand Slam titles as a pair.