I dont know: Serena Williams, 44, not ruling out comeback to professional tennis
Serena Williams, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, retired in 2022, but her return to the list of players registered for the drug-testing pool has fuelled comeback reports.
Former world number one Serena Williams refused to rule out a return to professional tennis during an interview on the Today Show. 44-year-old Serena, who retired after the 2022 US Open after winning 23 Grand Slams, filed the necessary paperwork in December to be back on the list of players registered for the drug-testing pool.
While filing the paperwork in December, she ruled out a return and claimed she was "not coming back", but in the recent interview on Monday, the legendary American pro didn't rule out the possibility of a potential return.
Reluctant Serena remains open-minded on return
During the interview, Serena was pushed for an answer on a tennis comeback, and despite a lot of reluctance to respond, didn't rule out a return.
I mean really, are you asking this on The Today Show?" Williams asked. "Oh my God."
"They would kill me if I didn't," the host replied.
"Oh my goodness," Williams said.
"Is that a no?" the host shot back.
"Is that a no?" Williams responded. "Now people on the set are laughing; this is distracting. You're distracting us over there."
"OK, but you didn't say yes or no."
"I'm just having fun and enjoying my life right now," Williams replied.
"That's not a yes or a no," the host clarified.
"That's not a yes or a no," Williams said. "I don't know, I'm just going to see what happens."
Serena, a mother of two, recently spoke about how she is enjoying motherhood and said she put stay-at-home mum and housewife as her occupation on a form.
Players can only return to professional tennis competitions after spending six months in the testing pool.
The comeback reports were fuelled when her name appeared on a document published by the International Tennis Integrity Agency last October.