It is being reported by various sources that Serena Williams has been reentered into the anti-doping testing pool. This is significant because it means that she may be seriously considering a return to the WTA Tour in 2026 perhaps in time for the hardcourt season leading up to the US Open.
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👀🇺🇸 Serena Williams has been added to the ITIA’s Registered Testing Pool
🎾 This move means that she will – if willing – be eligible to return to the professional tour in 6 months 🍿 pic.twitter.com/Rf65WFpypi
— Olly Tennis 🎾 🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) December 2, 2025
When fans consider what we have seen and heard from Serena Williams (and sister Venus) in recent months, this should not be a complete surprise.
Reasons Why A Serena Williams Return May Have Been In The Works For Some Time
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- Serena, 44, watched as older sister Venus had a successful summer and fall with a deep run in US Open doubles with Leylah Fernandez. Williams also partnered with Hailey Baptiste prior to the US Open but admitted that she was not used to playing with other partners besides her sister. Venus even told her sister to come to the US Open to watch her compete.
- Serena has lost a significant amount of weight with a diet drug that she is now the spokesperson for. While this could be for general lifestyle purposes, it could also indicate that she was getting fit for a possible return.
- We last saw Serena Williams on a tennis court before Thanksgiving via her Instagram post. She was introducing her youngest daughter to tennis. The court looked wet which seemed an odd time to have a tennis lesson unless Serena was giving her daughter a tennis lesson after her own training.
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Should she return, it would make for an even more dramatic WTA Tour. She is the greatest women’s player ever, and fans would be insanely curious what her game would look like after walking away in 2022 and giving birth to her second child post retirement.
Would she compete in singles, doubles, or mixed doubles or all three as Venus did in the fall?
Regardless, Serena may be preparing to join fellow forty something Grand Slam champions Stan Wawrinka and Venus in competitive tennis in 2026, and the world will be watching.
