In December, Serena Williams shut down any suggestions that she was considering returning to professional tennis, despite putting her name back in the sport’s drug testing pool. But when asked about it on national television Wednesday, she couldn’t give a straight answer.
The 44-year-old was asked whether she was preparing a return to tennis during a sitdown interview Wednesday with Savannah Guthrie on the Today show. Guthrie cited a December report by tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg that Williams had re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Association’s drug testing pool, which would make her eligible to play tennis again.
Hours after the news broke that Williams had put her name back in the testing pool, she posted that “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back.” But on Wednesday, Williams, who appeared shocked by Gutherie’s questioning, did not outright deny a potential return to tennis.
“I mean, really? Are you asking me this on the Today show? Really?” Williams said.
“Yes, I am. They’d kill me if I didn’t; Tennis nation, all your fans. Is that a no?” Guthrie responded.
Williams continued to dodge the question, before Guthrie pointed out that the 23-time Grand Slam champion did not provide a yes or no answer.
“That’s not a yes or no. I don’t know. I’m just gonna see what happens,” Williams said.
Guthrie continued to prod at Williams, before the tennis legend ended the segment by saying she “can’t discuss” the topic.
Williams’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Williams, widely considered the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, last played at the 2022 US Open, three weeks before her 41st birthday. (She had pointedly avoided using the word “retirement” but said she was “evolving away” from tennis.) She’s focused on venture capital investments in recent years with her own $111 million VC fund Serena Ventures.
Her older sister, Venus, has sporadically continued to play professional tennis at age 45.
In July, Venus Williams defeated Peyton Stearns in their first round match at the DC Open to become the oldest woman in 21 years to win a WTA match. Williams received a wild card entry to the 2025 US Open and 2026 Australian Open, but lost in the first round of both Grand Slams.
