Serena Williams may not be finished with tennis after all. Nearly four years after her last professional match at the 2022 US Open, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is again at the center of comeback speculation. Williams has not announced a return, and no US Open entry has been confirmed, but the pieces are starting to line up in a way that has the tennis world watching closely.
The biggest development is procedural, but important. Williams is now listed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency as reinstated as of February 22, 2026, meaning she has completed the anti-doping requirements needed to be eligible for a return to competition. That does not mean she is coming back. It does mean she can.
The latest reports have linked Williams to a possible doubles appearance at Queen’s Club in London, a WTA 500 grass-court event that begins June 8. Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko addressed speculation about a possible partnership with Williams, saying any announcement would have to come from Serena herself.
That careful non-denial has only added to the intrigue. If Williams does return during the grass-court season, Wimbledon would immediately become the next question. And if she plays there, attention would naturally shift to New York, where her professional career appeared to close in 2022.
The US Open carries a different weight in Serena’s story. It was the site of her first Grand Slam singles title in 1999 and the place where she received a farewell atmosphere in 2022, when she reached the third round before stepping away from the sport. A return there in 2026, even in doubles or mixed doubles, would instantly become one of the biggest stories of the season.
For now, a singles comeback remains the more complicated scenario. Williams is 44, has not played a tour match since 2022, and would be returning to a women’s field led by a younger generation that grew up watching her dominate the sport. But doubles, especially mixed doubles, could offer a more realistic route back onto the Grand Slam stage.
The US Open has also put more emphasis on mixed doubles in recent years, including a revamped format with a smaller field, wild cards, and a larger spotlight before the singles main draw. That kind of format could make a Serena appearance both possible and commercially irresistible if she chooses to enter.
Still, the central fact has not changed: Serena Williams has not publicly confirmed a comeback. When her name returned to the testing pool last year, she pushed back against the idea that it meant she was returning. But tennis comebacks often begin with paperwork before they become public plans, and Williams has now cleared the biggest eligibility hurdle.
The 2026 US Open runs from August 23 to September 13 in New York. Whether Williams is there as a spectator, a doubles attraction, or something more, her name is once again part of the conversation. For a player who never liked the word retirement, that alone is enough to make the tennis world wonder.
