Serena Williams has sent tennis fans into a frenzy after they thought she was coming out of retirement.
Williams retired from tennis at the 2022 US Open, ending her career with an Open Era record of 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Despite saying her farewell from tennis over three years ago, there have still been many calls for Williams to return to tennis.
The 44-year-old sent social media into a frenzy after she was spotted re-entering the drug testing pool, which is required for players to compete, but Williams quickly shut these rumours down.
Although Williams has played down the chances of her returning to tennis, fans of the sport think there may be more to it.
Tennis fans think Serena Williams could be planning doubles farewell with Venus Williams
In her response to the social media speculation about her coming back to tennis, Serena Williams wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Omg y’all I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-“
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However, tennis fans were not willing to settle for this response, questioning what the reason for her re-entering the testing pool would be if she was not returning to tennis.
Serena’s older sister Venus Williams is still an active player, and tennis fans have predicted that they could play doubles together one final time as they both say farewell to tennis.
One person wrote on social media, “You don’t rejoin a sports anti-doping system by accident so I am very confused by this Serena Williams news. My best guess is a potential doubles with Venus, assuming Venus’ last season could be in 2026. Who knows!”
Another person added, “Maybe she’s thinking about playing doubles with Venus bc Venus is retiring this year?”
Some speculated that Serena could even be tempted to play singles, “I think it’s possible that Venus has privately shared to Serena that 2026 will be her final year on tour, so Serena will do several doubles events with her in the summer…Starting at Wimbledon, then mostly the US swing. I’m sure Serena will do singles herself, too.”
While others were even getting carried away by thinking about the kit Serena and Venus could wear for one final comeback, “Ok, Serena, I believe you while simultaneously pondering what kits a Williams sisters doubles team would wear.”
Venus has already been announced to play the WTA 250 event in Auckland in January, and is also expected to receive a wildcard for the Australian Open, with the speculation only likely to increase as the months draw on.
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What happened when the Williams sisters last played a doubles match together?
As well as their well-known success on the singles court, Serena and Venus were also a formidable doubles partnership.
The Williams sisters won a total of 22 titles together, including 14 Grand Slams and three Olympic doubles gold medals.
Serena and Venus also hold the incredible record of winning all 14 of their Grand Slam finals together, with their last coming at Wimbledon in 2016.
| Grand Slam | The Williams sisters titles |
| Australian Open | 4 (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010) |
| French Open | 2 (1999, 2010) |
| Wimbledon | 6 (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016) |
| US Open | 2 (1999, 2009) |
However, that was not the last time they played together, with their final doubles match coming for Serena’s farewell at the 2022 US Open.
This did not end in the fairy tale that many would have hoped for, with the Williams sisters losing in the first round to the pairing of Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka.
Whether that was the last time they ever play together is still unknown, but there will be people watching Serena’s every move now as they anticipate a potential return to court.
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