Coco Gauff Weighs in on Serena Williams’ Reported Comeback

Serena Williams hasn’t played a tennis match since the 2022 US Open, but the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion still has a presence so iconic that whispers of her potential return are a primary topic of discussion at the 2026 French Open at Roland-Garros.

Coco Gauff is actively defending her French Open title. After winning her second-round match against Mayar Sherif on Thursday, Gauff was asked for her thoughts on the Williams comeback rumors.

“That would be really cool,” Gauff said. “I did say one of my biggest regrets was not being able to play her. Everybody’s been hearing rumors and stuff, so if they are true, I guess we’ll find out in a couple of days based off the rumors. We’ll see. But I think it would be for the sport to have a legend back playing.”

Earlier this week, Naomi Osaka also weighed in on the prospect of Williams’ returning.

“That’s definitely something I would be really excited about, just to see around the sites and playing matches again, I think, is really cool for tennis,” Osaka said. “I would be excited to see her outfits again, too. But also her playing. I think she’s one of the best players in the world, of course.”

So, what’s actually going on with Serena Williams?

Is Serena Williams Returning to Tennis?

The Telegraph’s Simon Briggs reported Thursday that Williams is “planning a sensational comeback on the grass courts of Queen’s Club in ten days.”

“But Williams – who is 44 – re-entered the anti-doping testing pool in August last year, in the first significant hint that she was ready to reconsider,” Briggs wrote. “Now, having completed her mandatory six-month period in that pool, she is understood to have asked for a wild card into the Lawn Tennis Association’s flagship event.”

Jon Wertheim also reported that Williams has put in requests for a wild card for the grass court season on the Wednesday episode of retired tennis great Andy Roddick’s “Served” podcast.

“What I have heard is that she will be playing at Queen’s Club,” Wertheim said. “Doubles with […] Victoria Mboko.”

Mboko, 19, is an emerging Canadian star who is ranked ninth in singles.

Roddick teased that he “know[s] too much on this story” but couldn’t publicly disclose all that he knows, so he acknowledged that Williams would only re-enter the anti-doping protocol if she’s considering playing tennis again.

“I think you could say her best chance of, like, lightning in a bottle in this comeback is on grass at Wimbledon,” Roddick said.

Williams has not confirmed nor denied her return to tennis, but she did toy with her fans with an Instagram video posted May 19. “Rumor has it……. I got a new trainer,” she captioned the video showing her youngest daughter, Adira Ohanian, helping her train.