Serena Williams return to WTA tennis this summer appears imminent

The tennis world went stircrazy six months ago when Serena Williams reinserted herself into the doping protocols. Williams, 44, became eligible for a WTA return in late February.

Though there have been mixed signals along the way of when, where, and if this would ultimately occur, it looks like Serena will play competitive tennis during the upcoming grass court season.

On Andy Roddick’s Served podcast, tennis insider Jon Wertheim shared the chatter he is hearing about a Serena return this summer.

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When is Serena coming back

Wertheim said that he is hearing her camp is requesting wildcards at Queen’s Club and other Wimbledon warm up events. The initial plan is to play doubles alongside Victoria Mboko.

However, Wertheim, Roddick, and virtually everyone in tennis media thinks she will also play singles, maybe as early as Wimbledon.

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The US Open hardcourt season starts immediately after Wimbledon with stops in Washington, DC, Canada, and Cincinnati. American fans would love to see Serena return to play on or near home soil.

It is worth noting that the WTA player page still lists Serena’s status as retired. She played her final match at the 2022 US Open and becomes eligible for International Tennis Hall of Fame enshrinement in 2027.

Roddick and Wertheim are eager to see Serena return. Wertheim also openly opines about a Serena and Venus reunion this summer because Venus is not retired and was a US Open doubles quarterfinalist last summer with Leylah Fernandez. Venus was slated to play French Open doubles with Hailey Baptiste who suffered a catastrophic injury in her singles match on Wednesday and was forced to retire.