Jon Wertheim suggests the reason why Serena Williams might be planning a WTA Tour return

Serena Williams set off a wave of speculation about a possible return to tennis after she was added back into the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s drug testing pool for the first time since 2022.

But Williams was quick to put those rumours to rest, saying in December last year that she had no plans to come out of retirement.

Still, in a chat with the Today Show earlier this year, she didn’t completely shut down the idea of playing again.

“I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens,” Williams said at the time.

Jon Wertheim, who regularly covers both tours as well as other major sporting events, has shared some recent comments from contacts in his circle about whether Serena might return.

Jon Wertheim explains why Serena Williams is unhappy with how her Wimbledon career ended

There’s been plenty of speculation about a potential return for Serena since December, and Lindsay Davenport has been one of the latest to weigh in.

Now Jon Wertheim has shared an update, indicating that if a comeback does happen, it likely won’t be at Indian Wells.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel, Wertheim [pictured below] said: “I feel like everyone’s sort of playing around with this, and there’s a lot of speculation. I mean, this could be one of the stories of the year for 2026, depending on how this goes.

“So Serena. This we know. She’s back in the doping protocol. She’s eligible to play as of today. I had heard that Indian Wells is probably not on the docket – not having to do with the family history there – but it’s windy, it’s gritty, the court is below the surface. It’s just too many variables there.

“The Williams camp has been very tight-lipped, as they’re entitled to be. In some ways, this is sort of teasing and very much on brand with Serena. They’re sort of non-denial denials.”

“I’ve heard two names bandied about. One of them is Martina Navratilova. Martina was roughly the same age when she made a return in her mid-40s. It was doubles only.

Andrea Petkovic backs Serena Williams to return to tennis

Andrea Petkovic, a former world number nine, has expressed strong belief that Serena will indeed make a comeback.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel’s Cross Court, the German star said: “I have been in the doping protocols for 16 years. Nobody signs up for a 5am warning call. Not to pee in a cup in front of a person with you in the bathroom for doubles.

“I’m sorry. With all due respect to everybody who is playing doubles, nobody does that voluntarily.”

So I bet my money and my house on Serena coming back and playing at least one match, and I think she has earned the right to do whatever she wants. If after one match she just decides it’s not for me, she can do whatever she wants.

“And if she decides, ‘oh, maybe I do have a shot here to go for something bigger’ – I’m thinking it springs to my mind—Lindsey Vonn and how she decided to, despite her ACL, a week later, race in the Winter Olympics. [It] didn’t go well, but the decision is what counts.

Pictured: Serena Williams of United States celebrates match point against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro during their Women’s Singles First Round match on Day One of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

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