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12/02 15:04 CST Serena Williams says she is not coming back to tennis
Serena Williams says she is not coming back to tennis
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Tennis Writer
Serena Williams threw cold water on the idea that she might be preparing to
return to tennis, writing on social media Tuesday that she is "NOT coming
back," after a spokesman for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA)
said the 23-time Grand Slam champion had registered with the sport's
drug-testing body.
That is the first step that would be required by a player seeking to come out
of retirement.
The 44-year-old Williams, one of the greats of the game, has not competed since
bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open. At the time, Williams said she didn't
want to use the word "retiring" and instead declared that she was "evolving"
away from tennis.
It was not clear when or where --- or even if --- Williams actually will play
again, and she later posted: "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is
crazy."
Her agent did not immediately return a request for comment.
In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, U.S. Tennis Association
spokesman Brendan McIntyre said: "We are aware that Serena has filed the
necessary paperwork with the International Tennis Integrity Agency to reenter
the International Registered Testing Pool. If Serena decides to return and
compete at the professional level, together with her fans, we will
enthusiastically welcome the return of one of the greatest champions in the
history of our sport."
Williams was one of the biggest stars of any sport, a dominant talent on the
court and still someone drawing attention away from it. If she were to end up
returning to the tour, it would be a significant story line, of course.
Her decision to place her name back in the testing pool with the ITIA, which
oversees anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts, was first reported by Bounces.
"She is on the list and back in the testing pool," ITIA spokesman Adrian
Bassett wrote to the AP on Tuesday.
Athletes returning to testing need to provide information on their whereabouts
--- details on their location when they are not at an official event and times
when they are available to give samples. Someone who retires while they are on
the list and later comes back needs to be available for testing for six months
before they are allowed to return to competition.
Williams' older sister, Venus, returned to competition this July at age 45
after nearly 1 1/2 years away from the tour; she never had announced her
retirement. At the U.S. Open, Venus became the oldest player to play singles at
the American Grand Slam tournament since 1981.
When Venus, a seven-time major singles champion, came back at the DC Open, she
spoke about wishing Serena would join her back on tour. They claimed 14 Grand
Slam doubles titles as a pair.
"I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she
was here. Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her,"
Venus said at the time when asked about a video on social media that showed
Serena swinging a racket. "But if she comes back, I'm sure she'll let y'all
know."
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories
here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis:
https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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