Serena Williams has denied that she will come out of retirement, despite beginning the process of a tennis comeback.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion retired following her third-round defeat by Ajla Tomljanovic in New York.
Williams, it seemed, had signalled her interest in a return after she was named in the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA)’s player drug-testing pool.
The 44-year-old has not played on the WTA Tour since her exit at Flushing Meadows three years ago, and rumours began swirling when her name was seen on the most recent ITIA publication dated on October 6.
However, the American has swiftly put out the “wildfire”, insisting that she will not pick up her racquet again.
"I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” she posted on social media.
Williams’ sister Venus, another great of the sport, made a surprise comeback earlier this year after almost a year and a half away.
She played in both the singles and doubles draws at the recent US Open, and made the quarter-finals of the doubles with former singles finalist Leylah Fernandez.
Venus became the oldest singles player in the tournament’s history, aged 45.
As for Serena, it remains unclear why her name has appeared in the ITIA database if she is adamant that she does not want to make a return to the sport.
One reason that she stepped away from tennis was to have her second child in August 2023.
Williams has gone down as one of the sport’s greatest ever, with her major title haul only bettered by Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic.
© The Standard Ltd