Serena Williams dismissed speculation of a tennis comeback after rejoining the ITIA testing pool, insisting she has no plans to return to competition.
Serena Williams rejoined the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s registered testing pool for the first time since 2022, but the 23-time Grand Slam champion insists she’s not plotting a return to the court.
“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back,” Williams wrote on X. “This wildfire is crazy.”
The ITIA confirmed her reinstatement to The Guardian on Tuesday, noting that her name on the list means she’s met the preliminary requirements for drug testing, not that she’s planning to compete.
“Serena Williams is back on the Registered Testing Pool list,” said an ITIA spokesperson. “Athletes who retire and wish to return to competition need to make themselves available for testing for six months before they can compete again,” in accordance with World Anti-Doping Agency rules.
Williams last played professionally during the 2022 US Open, where she advanced to the third round.
At the time, she described her exit from tennis as “evolving away” rather than a formal retirement. That same September, she submitted paperwork to be exempted from the sport’s strict location-tracking requirements.
Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) December 2, 2025
Despite her recent reentry into the ITIA’s system, Williams has made it clear she’s not lacing up for a comeback.
The speculation grew louder after she appeared in a Porter magazine feature, looking fit, and revealed she had lost 31 pounds with the help of a weight-loss injection.
Away from tennis, Williams and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are raising their two daughters, eight-year-old Olympia and two-year-old Adira.
Williams has not competed in a sanctioned match since September 2022.
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