Serena denies pending return despite re-entering anti-doping test pool

VIDEO SHOWS: SCREENGRAB OF POST FROM SERENA WILLIAMS ON HER OFFICIAL X PAGE / FILE PHOTOS FROM WILLIAMS' FINAL MATCH OF HER CAREER / FILE FOOTAGE OF WILLIAMS DURING PRACTICE SESSION AHEAD OF WIMBLEDON / FILE FOOTAGE OF WILLIAMS POSING FOR PHOTOS WITH HER HUSBAND & DAUGHTER ON RED CARPET SHOWS: INTERNET (DECEMBER 2, 2025) (SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITE – Access all) (MUTE) 1. SCREENGRAB OF POST BY SERENA WILLIAMS ON HER OFFICIAL X PAGE (English): “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-.” NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE – SEPTEMBER 2, 2022) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 2. VARIOUS STILL PHOTOS OF SERENA WILLIAMS IN WHAT WOULD BE THE FINAL MATCH OF HER CAREER – A LOSS TO AUSTRALIAN AJLA TOMLJANOVIC IN THE U.S. OPEN THIRD ROUND  3. STILL PHOTO OF WILLIAMS THANKING THE CROWD AFTERWARDS NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE – SEPTEMBER 2, 2022) (USA TODAY SPORTS – Mandatory credit: “USA TODAY Sports”) (MUTE) 4. STILL PHOTO OF WILLIAMS GESTURING IN THANKS TO THE CROWD AFTER THE FINAL MATCH IN HER CAREER  LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (FILE – JUNE 24, 2022) (REUTERS – Access all) 5. VARIOUS OF WILLIAMS RALLYING DURING PRACTICE SESSION AHEAD OF WIMBLEDON LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE – JULY 11, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all) 6. VARIOUS OF WILLIAMS POSING FOR PHOTOS ON ESPY'S AWARD SHOW RED CARPET 7. WILLIAMS WITH HUSBAND ALEXIS OHANIAN & DAUGHTER ALEXIS OLYMPIA ON ESPY'S RED CARPET STORY: Serena Williams has re-entered the tennis anti-doping testing pool but the 23-times Grand Slam champion denied on Tuesday (December 2) that the move had anything to do with her making a return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades. The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to Reuters that Williams, who has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open, was among the list of players in its testing pool, which requires individuals to provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing. But as the story of 44-year-old Williams' inclusion on the list, first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Athletic, gained traction and sparked talk about her potential return, the tennis great took to social media to deny a comeback was in her plans. "Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy," Williams wrote on X. Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters asking why the player had re-entered the testing pool. Williams' name appears on the ITIA website's list of retired players and would be able to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months. Last week former world number one Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023. In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was "evolving away from tennis." Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record. The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four major finals since giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017. (Production: Mike Segar, Shannon Stapleton, Stefan Haskins)

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