Serena Williams has moved a step closer to a potential tennis comeback after being cleared by the sport’s drug-testing authority to return to competition later this month.
The 23-time major champion, who last played a professional match at the 2022 US Open, stunned the tennis world by registering to enter the drug-testing pool list back in August, suggesting she is eyeing a remarkable comeback at the age of 44.
When it was revealed last year that she had signed up with the International Tennis Integrity Agency, Williams wrote on social media: ‘Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.’
Yet six months after registering, the tennis icon was listed on ITIA’s reinstatement page Monday, as first reported by Bounces.
It remains to be seen if Williams truly intends to step onto the court again seven months before her 45th birthday, with her eligible-to-return date listed as February 22.
The tennis icon passed another stage on the path to a possible comeback 24 hours after sparking outrage by appearing in a Super Bowl commercial for a weight-loss drug on Sunday.
In the ad, Williams credited the GLP-1 provider Ro for her body transformation after admitting she turned to it post-retirement.
She was even seen injecting the drug in one commercial that aired in the first half of the game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, while another saw her mark an order on Ro’s mobile app and reveal that they are releasing a new version of the medication in pill form.
Williams also explained that she not only lost weight but has reduced knee joint stress, steadied her blood sugar levels and lowered her cholesterol.
One fan claimed on X that the sight of the sporting legend ‘pushing weight loss drugs’ was ‘disgusting.’
Another person wrote that ‘we’re cooked’ because the ‘greatest tennis player of all time is on Ozempic.’
While one simply added: ‘What is going on?’
Williams, one of the greats of the game, has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 US Open. At the time, she said she didn’t want to use the word ‘retiring’ and instead declared that she was ‘evolving’ away from tennis.
Athletes returning to testing need to provide information on their whereabouts – details on their location when they are not at an official event and times when they are available to give samples.
Someone who retires while they are on the list and later comes back needs to be available for testing for six months before they are allowed to return to competition.
Her older sister, Venus, returned to competition last July at age 45 after nearly a year-and-a-half away from the tour; she never had announced her retirement. At the US Open, Venus became the oldest player to play singles at the American Grand Slam tournament since 1981.
When Venus, a seven-time major singles champion, came back at the DC Open, she spoke about wishing Serena would join her back on tour. They claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a pair.
‘I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here. Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her,’ she said at the time when asked about a video on social media that showed Serena swinging a racket. ‘But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know.’
