Rick Macci, former coach of Serena Williams says that the 23-time Grand Slam champion is all set to return back to tennis. It has been four years since Serena has not played any competitive match since the 2022 U.S. Open. The Australian tennis star who won her last singles title in 2017 is set to comeback with full preparation and take part in tournaments after joining the anti-doping testing pool last year.
The 44-year-old has been coached by Macci alongside her sister Venus in the early 1990s. The 71-year-old coach who is confident of her student abilities backs her up and warns everyone of her comeback during an interview with L’Equipe.
He said, “She’s training with lots of sparring partners, guys. She’s also played with Alycia Parks, a good friend of hers in South Florida. So I have no doubt about it (her comeback). I always thought she would come back from time to time to make appearances with Venus in doubles.”
“But we’re not just talking about doubles here . . . she’s going all out. If she didn’t think she could compete with the best and win matches, she wouldn’t do it. It’s 100 per cent certain she’ll dive back into competition. The question is whether that competitive spirit is still there, he added.”
Serena, who hasn’t made any public announcement on her potential comeback, became eligible to return on February 22 by the sport’s drug-testing body (ITIA). As per the coach the former tennis player will make her comeback with either the Indian Wells Open starting on March 4 where her sister Venus will enter as a wildcard or the Miami Open, WTA Masters 1,000, set to be held in March 17 to 29. He is, however, interested to see how well the 23-time Grand Slam champion performs on her return in prestigious events.
On October 6, 2025, Serena’s name had appeared in the list of players for the International Registered Testing Pool. The test was reportedly done by her as it is a requirement for those players who are returning to the competition.
Adrian Bassett, a representative of the International Tennis Integrity Agency, had confirmed about the test pool to The Athletic last year in December.
“She has notified us that she wants to be reinstated into the testing pool. I do not know if this means she is coming back, or just giving herself the option. All I can say is she’s back in the pool and therefore subject to whereabouts,” he mentioned.
Last year in August, Serena during an interview with the Vogue magazine had mentioned that she is taking her mind away from tennis for now without hinting on any comeback. They used the word away and not retirement.
Serena said, “I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution.”
Serena has 73 singles titles on the WTA Tour with around $95 million in prize money. She won titles each in Wimbledon and the Australian Open, six-times in the U.S. Open six times and three in French Open.
