Andy Roddick says whether Serena Williams should return to tennis at Indian Wells next month

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Serena Williams is expected to return to tennis soon, but it’s unclear when and where she plans to make her comeback.

Some had suggested she might play Indian Wells, but Jon Wertheim explained why that is unlikely during the latest episode of ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘.

“One other thing I heard is that there was speculation that she might play Indian Wells,” said Wertheim.

Serena Williams would finish 2026 ranked — in the world if she came out of retirement

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“I have heard that won’t happen, not because of family history and back story [at Indian Wells] but just because the conditions are so variable and it’s windy, and it’s cold.

“She will be playing on the stadium court, which is below the ground and can get hot in the day, cold at night, and windy on a gritty court.

“That is not the right setting for her to kick off this comeback.”

Reacting to Wertheim’s comments, Andy Roddick discussed whether he thought Williams should make her return at Indian Wells.

Andy Roddick understands that Serena Williams has to be careful with where she returns to tennis

The former world number one said he would advise anyone else to make their return at Indian Wells.

“If someone was coming back and Indian Wells isn’t a great surface for them, I would tell most people just go there, it’s uncomfortable, and there is no perfect re-entry,” said Roddick.

“You can’t just show up at Wimbledon and play.

“You have to play something going in after this amount of time.

“I would almost argue, do you want to risk getting hurt on clay, and the movement isn’t natural?

“Trying to play two or three events on hard and re-assess is as good or as bad, and figure out what you want to play from there.”

He did, however, understand that different rules apply for Williams.

“But Serena [Williams] is such an attention vacuum because it’s earned, she supersedes the interest in our sport,” said Roddick.

“Nobody is bigger than the sport, but if anyone was, it would be Serena Williams.

“So the attention mechanism means she can’t go out and lose a match two and four at Indian Wells, without having to deal with all of it.

“She has to be a bit more precious about it. If it’s just based on tennis and you’re coming back and feeling fit and healthy, let’s just assume it’s going to be imperfect, you need to get out there and figure out the match play muscle memory again.

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“That is the right thing to do for Serena, it’s just that it’s Serena, so it’s going to be covered on nightly noise as opposed to a YouTube podcast.”

If Williams does return, her first match will dominate global headlines.

As Roddick rightly mentioned, a straight-sets defeat in her comeback match would likely draw unfair but widespread criticism.

Therefore, when looking at which tournament to play, Williams must choose wisely…

Where should Serena Williams return if not Indian Wells?

It’s hard to imagine Williams returning at a smaller WTA 250 or WTA 500 event, so that doesn’t leave her with many options.

The events in North America seem like good destinations for a comeback, as does Wimbledon, an event she won seven times.

But it’s the Miami Open next month, which might make the most sense.

At 44, if Williams wants to return, she doesn’t want to wait too long.

A return at the Miami Open, her most successful WTA 1000 event, could get her ready for the rest of the year.

Then, she could head to Europe, either for the clay-court season or the grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon.

And after all that, Williams could end the year in North America, with the two WTA 1000 tournaments and the US Open.

It remains to be seen where Williams will return, if at all, but Florida certainly looks like a viable option.

The 2026 Miami Open will begin on Tuesday, March 17.