The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who last played in 2022 and avoided using the word “retirement” in announcing her “step away” from the sport, has informed the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) that she wants to re-enter the sport’s international registered testing pool.
His name appears in the updated list of players in that pool on 6 October this year.
“She has informed us that she wishes to be reinstated to the testing pool,” ITIA spokesman Adrian Bassett said in a text message Tuesday.
“I don’t know if that means she’s coming back, or just giving herself options. All I can say is she’s back in the pool and so she’s being tracked.”
A spokesperson for Williams, 44, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The testing pool does not include every active player, even though every active player is subject to out-of-competition testing.
Instead it consists mostly of the top 100 men’s and women’s singles players, elite doubles and wheelchair players, and players wishing to return to competition after a long hiatus. Players in the pool are required to report their whereabouts at a certain time every day of the year, and anyone who re-enters is required to remain in the pool for six months before tournament play.
Officials with the WTA Tour and the United States Tennis Association, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of their organization, said they were unaware that Williams had re-entered the testing pool.
While reinstatement in October would make her eligible to play from April 2026, the most likely venue for Williams’ return would appear to be the US Open mixed doubles tournament, which has become a star-studded, two-day event open to wild-card pairings from across the tennis galaxy. She was one of the best doubles players of the modern era, winning 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals with her sister Venus, 45, who still competes.
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