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

• Williams back in ITIA pool for first time since 2022

• Move required before any potential competitive return

• Could be eligible to play again as early as mid-2026

Serena Williams has taken the procedural move required of any retired player contemplating a competitive comeback, after the 23-time grand slam singles champion re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) registered testing pool for the first time since 2022.

Williams, 44, has not played an official match since her run to the third round of the US Open more than three years ago. 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, year-round whereabouts requirements. To return to competition, however, retired athletes must make themselves available for out-of-competition testing for six months before they are allowed to enter an event.

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