Serena Williams quietly re-enters drug-testing pool in step toward possible 2026 return

Key Highlights

• Although she described her departure at the time as “evolving away” from the sport rather than a hard retirement, she filed the paperwork with the ITIA that September that exempted her from the sport’s stringent whereabouts requirements.
• To return to competition, however, players must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are allowed to enter an event. Williams’s name appeared on the agency’s updated testing-pool list dated 6 October.
• An ITIA spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian on Tuesday that Williams had requested reinstatement, while emphasizing that a place on the list was not itself evidence of a comeback.“Serena Williams is back on the Registered Testing Pool list,” an ITIA spokesperson said, noting that athletes returning from retirement “need to make themselves available for testing for six months before they can compete again”, in line with World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) regulations. Later on Tuesday, Williams publicly disputed that her inclusion in the pool signaled any plans to return.
• “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back,” she wrote on X.
• “This wildfire is crazy.”A representative for Williams did not immediately respond to questions from the Guardian about her intentions. The ITIA’s registered pool does not include every active player; it is largely reserved for top-ranked singles competitors, high-level doubles and wheelchair athletes, and pros coming back after extended absences. Rumors about a possible cameo appearance at the US Open circulated quietly during this year’s tournament, particularly around the mixed doubles event, which has evolved into a two-day showcase packed with star wildcards.