Serena Williams has made the shock decision to return to professional tennis more than three years on from her final match at the US Open, according to a bombshell new report.
The tennis icon, 44, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in an historic career, has been inactive since September 2022 but has now officially applied for reinstatement.
According to tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg, the decision sets her up for a return to the top level of tennis in 2026, and she has been added back in to the drug testing pool required for all active players.
Serena, whose 45-year-old sister Venus is also still active, lost her final match against Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open in 2022, and she applied for retirement with the International Tennis Integrity Agency a day later.
That decision meant she longer had to provide her daily whereabouts for random drug tests, but it is being reported that she has returned to that pool.
Rothenberg’s ‘Bounces’ website also reports that Williams had explored the possibility of returning sooner, seeking reinstatement ahead of this year’s US Open, but was knocked back by officials.
It is understood that she had planned to play doubles with Venus in New York – something that will be possible by the spring of 2026, in time for the French Open if she so wishes.
It is as yet unclear exactly when she filed for reinstatement, but Williams’ name does appear on an October list of players registered for drugs testing, seemingly confirming her decision to return to the court.
Serena has been in the spotlight in recent months for her usage of the GLP-1 weight loss drug Zepbound, which she has openly spoken about on adverts for the health company Ro.
She has lost an incredible 30lbs this year, after giving birth to her second daughter Adira.
GLP-1s are not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, and are also not included on the 2026 list of prohibited substances, per Rothenberg’s reporting.
They are, though, on the ‘monitoring program’, meaning that usage and effects of the drugs are being observed by WADA’s scientists.
Despite officially ‘retiring’, Williams has previously sparked rumors of a comeback by claiming that the ‘chances of me returning are very high’.
In a recent interview with Net-A-Porter, she spoke in-depth about the scrutiny she faced on the court.
‘In tennis you can’t really be yourself, which sounds weird, but you have to keep a veil up,’ she said.
‘You can’t be too vulnerable. In a way I need[ed] to be seen as this person that’s always going to take my opponent out.’
She was also asked whether she missed the sport, adding: ‘Not as much as this time last year. No matter how prepared you are to retire, and particularly from doing something every day at such a high level, it’s hard.
‘I really prepped myself the best way I could, but it’s something that’s still a little difficult.’
Despite three years away from the court, the 44-year-old remains in incredible shape and recently showed off her bikini body on vacation with her family.
