Serena Williams could be making her return to professional tennis.
Williams has avoided saying “retirement” since last playing in 2022. This fall, the 44-year-old tennis star took an official step to return to the tour by informing the International Tennis Integrity Agency that would like to reenter the International Registered Testing Pool.
Though the Oct. 6 pool included Williams’s name, news of her rejoining the drug testing program emerged Tuesday. She could be eligible to play tournaments beginning in April.
“I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option,” an ITIA spokesperson told The Athletic. “All I can say is she’s back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts.”
Any player who reenters has to be in the pool for at least six months before playing a tournament.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion’s return to the pool doesn’t guarantee her return to the court. Being back in the program means Williams needs to provide her daily whereabouts in order for the agency to conduct no-notice testing.
The United States Tennis Association and Women’s Tennis Association did not immediately return requests for comment.
Williams’s older sister, Venus—a seven-time Grand Slam champion—completed a noteworthy US Open run in August that ended with a quarterfinals doubles loss.
