Go on, Serena. Keep us guessing.
Amid swirling comeback chatter, Serena Williams has added fresh fuel to the fire: this time with a serve.
Serve Training
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion posted a short
TikTok clip of herself back on court, dialled in on the most feared shot in her arsenal: that thunderbolt serve.
No captions. No grand declarations. Just clean ball-striking and immaculate timing.
From earlier today in TikTok.
Serena Williams hitting serves pic.twitter.com/zkCWY8nCW3
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) February 20, 2026
Subtle? Maybe. Strategic? Almost certainly.
For now, there’s been no official announcement. But Serena has always understood timing, on court and off it. Whether deliberate or not, the silence is keeping fans and media locked in.
Eligible — But Not Committed
The intrigue intensified after confirmation that Williams is officially eligible to return to professional tennis from February 22. Her name appeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency reinstatement list, signalling she has completed the required six-month stint in the anti-doping testing pool.
In practical terms, she can now enter sanctioned tournaments again.
For the first time since September 2022, Serena is no longer considered retired in the eyes of tennis authorities.
But Serena herself? Non-committal.
Speaking on it all last month, she played it cool.
“I don’t know. I’m just going to see what happens,” she said.
Pressed on rejoining the testing programme, she shrugged it off. “Did I re-enter? I didn’t know if I was out. Listen, I can’t discuss this.”
The Legacy Is Set
At 44 and a mother of two, Williams hasn’t competed since her emotional third-round exit at the 2022 US Open, where she described her departure not as retirement, but as “evolving away from tennis.”
What’s beyond debate is her résumé: seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons, six US Opens, plus 14 major doubles titles with Venus and three Olympic gold medals.
