Serena Williams tempered a December social-media denial of a comeback when she addressed the topic during a recent morning interview. In early December she posted on X, “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-,” but her responses in the studio that followed were more measured.

Asked about a possible return while promoting a Super Bowl ad for Ro, a health company that markets and prescribes GLP-1 drugs, Williams smiled and pushed back at the line of questioning. “I mean, really? Are you asking this on the ‘TODAY’ show?’ Oh my goodness,” she said, drawing laughter. “I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now,” she added.

Williams, who shares daughters Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2, with her husband Alexis Ohanian, described herself as a “full-time, stay-at-home” mom and has even listed her occupation as “housewife” on a recent form. She has not labeled the season she stepped away in 2022 as formal retirement.

When pressed about reports that she had reentered the drug testing pool, Williams laughed: “Did I reenter? I don’t know if I was out. Listen, I can’t discuss this.” Co-host Savannah Guthrie suggested that the moment could settle speculation: “OK, I’m just saying if I wanted to put it to bed, this would be a good moment. To put the retirement rumors to bed,” to which Williams quipped: “I want to go to bed. It’s early.”

Public and media interest in a potential comeback has centered in part on the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Williams sisters won Olympic doubles gold in 2000, 2008 and 2012, and fan speculation has grown since Venus Williams returned to competition last summer after more than a year away. At that time Venus said, “I don’t ask those questions.” She added, “We always did everything together, so of course I miss her. But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know,” leaving the question open rather than settled.

Ajla Tomljanovic, the last player to defeat Serena Williams in a main-draw match at the 2022 US Open, reacted to renewed speculation about the 23-time Grand Slam champion possibly returning to competition. The talk began after Williams re-entered the anti-doping testing pool, a step that made a comeback legally possible as soon as this summer.

Tomljanovic called the situation a “win-win.” “I think it’s great if she comes back,” she said after a three-set victory over Yuliia Starodubtseva on Monday. “We definitely miss her.

“I do hope in a way that I stay the last one just ’cause it’s cool. Maybe it’s for doubles, who knows. I think we’ll have to wait and see.”

The Australian noted the mixed emotions that accompany talk of a return from one of the sport’s most decorated players. While Williams publicly dismissed the comeback idea on social media, the administrative step of re-entering the testing pool triggered speculation within the tennis world and beyond.

Tomljanovic, a former world No. 32, has navigated her own period of uncertainty. Last summer she launched an interview series titled Love Ajla, in which she speaks with other players about life, love, and the pursuit of tennis success. That project prompted questions about her future on tour, questions she quickly addressed.

“A few people came up to me [asking], ‘Are you like…?’ No, no, no, I still got my day job!

“I just feel like it’s fun to try new things still connected to tennis. Yeah, I will hopefully do more of that. But as long as I’m healthy and enjoying tennis, I really hope my career, there’s still a few good years left in me.”

With time ahead to build her own record, Tomljanovic said she is open to whatever unfolds for her former rival and for women’s tennis more broadly.

Serena Williams stayed at the center of online attention throughout 2025 with a string of public moments that kept fans and the media talking. Though she retired three years earlier, her appearances and actions generated widespread reaction.

She made a high-profile cameo at Super Bowl LIX, joining headline performer Kendrick Lamar during the Halftime Show and dancing to “Not Like Us.” Her crip-walking from the stage quickly spread across social platforms, drawing praise from fellow player Coco Gauff, who wrote on X: “Serena ate that…” The appearance was amplified by Lamar’s lyrical reference to Williams in a Grammy-winning track, in which he warned Drake that he “better not speak on Serena” amid that ongoing rap feud.

Tennis history also resurfaced in 2025 when Williams travelled to Newport, R.I., for Maria Sharapova’s induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The two, who first met on tour in 2004 and played each other 22 times with Williams leading 20–2, offered a reminder of their rivalry and shared place in the sport’s modern era. Introducing Sharapova, Williams called her a “forever friend” and addressed the audience directly: “I know I’m probably the last person you would be expecting to see here tonight!” She added, “To the world, we looked miles and miles apart. The truth is, we weren’t. We wanted the exact same thing at the exact same time: to be the very best…” and she closed that tribute by saying, “There are only a few players in my career who challenged me to be my very best every time we stepped out onto the court. Maria Sharapova was one of them.”

The third flashpoint came when fans discovered Williams had been added to the International Registered Testing Pool of the International Tennis Integrity Agency. Reports said she had requested reinstatement as early as October, a move widely read as a possible first step toward a comeback. Questions about mixed doubles at the US Open or a push for a 24th major followed until Williams addressed the speculation herself on X: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy…”