Ever since her name appeared on the ITIA drug testing pool list late last year, Serena Williams has been evasive about her plans to return to professional tennis.
Fans are now one step closer to finding out her plans on February 22, the day she is officially eligible to return.
Williams is the greatest female tennis player of all time. She retired after the 2022 US Open with 23 Grand Slam singles, 14 doubles, 2 mixed doubles, and 4 Olympic gold medals.
MORE: Venus Williams accepts wildcard to play at Indian Wells, a tournament she once boycotted
The 44-year-old’s resume is complete by anyone’s standards, and since retirement, she and her husband Alexis Ohanian had a second child. Serena Williams is busy and content in retirement, but watching her sister Venus Williams joyful return to the game at 45 could have fueled the comeback.
Actions speak louder than words for Serena Williams
She has said publicly and on the internet that she is not coming back. However, she recently practiced with American tennis player Alycia Parks. She has also posted social media videos of her time on the court, most recently serving.
When could fans see her play tennis again?
Some believe she will initially return on the doubles court with Venus.
Everybody is curious and wants to know.
Serena’s rival turned friend Maria Sharapova recently playfully asked if she is planning a Wimbledon return.
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If not at Wimbledon (where she won 13 Grand Slams in singles and doubles and a 2012 Olympic gold medal), the US Open summer series, with July warmup tournaments in Washington, DC and Cincinnati, leading up to and culminating in a return to Arthur Ashe Stadium are definitely possible.
It has always been clear that Serena Williams planned to come back. She would not have voluntarily put herself through the rigorous ITIA drug testing protocols for any other reason. The only thing that would stop her is if she believed she could not compete at a high level. That’s the lingering question that Serena and tennis fans are waiting to get answered.
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