Serena Williams posts seven word message that sparks wild comeback rumours
Serena Williams made an emotional exit from tennis at the 2022 US Open, but was that the final farewell for the 23-time Grand Slam queen?
Williams waved an emotional goodbye to tennis after a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open, with the scenes as she played her final matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York befitting a tennis icon who had transcended the sport for two decades.
At the age of 40, it felt like a fitting moment for the former world No 1 and mother of one to bow out, with the two years since heralding the arrival of her second child with husband Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit.
Comebacks rarely succeed for 42-year-old former tennis players, but Williams has previously hinted that she could have a final hurrah on court after he came up one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slams in the women’s game.
“I definitely am evolving,” Williams told CBS Mornings last year, as she refused to confirm she had retired from tennis.
“Because I feel like when you retire, it’s different. You put up your gloves or your club or your racket or whatever that is, or your computer, and then you just relax. And you go and you just basically take life in. And that’s not what I’m doing.
“I just feel like, for me, retirement is such a big word for someone at my age.
“I think I feel torn because I’m still able to play at a very, very, very high level.”
“With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level.
“I also wanted to walk away when I’m healthy and have a quality of life. But I’m inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it. I was playing earlier when I first retired because it was hard to do it cold turkey.”
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There have been no more hints of a tennis comeback from Williams since then… until now.
Williams does not post too many messages on her social media, but she used X, formally known as Twitter, to send the tennis grapevine into meltdown as she wrote: “I’m ready to hit some balls again.”
This message may well have been Serena having some fun, as she knew that message would set tennis tongue wagging, but it could also be a prelude to a last dance on court for the American superstar.
Her love of Wimbledon saw her make a return to grass courts in England in 2022 after almost a year away from the sport, as she played doubles with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne and then made what proved to be her final appearance at the All England Club.
That ended with a disappointing defeat against Harmony Tan in the first round, with her US Open exit a few weeks after that seemingly bringing down the curtain on her tennis story.
The tweet she posted on Tuesday may well be little more than some frivilous fun, but the timing so close to Wimbledon will inevitably spark excitement that we have not see the last of Williams in tennis.
A final crack a double glory with her sister Venus at this summer’s Olympic Games could also be an option, but Williams could end this potential comeback as quickly as she started it with another social media post in the next few days.
