A long-awaited chapter may reopen this year in the tennis world. Can you take a guess what it is about?

On February 10, the ITIA updated its list of reinstatements. And there’s a special name that dominated the court till 2022.

Well, the 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams may return to the baseline. What has to be made is a decision to go for it.

As per the updated ITIA list, Williams will be completing her 6 months of re-entry in the anti-doping testing pool by February 22nd. And after that, the Tennis icon will be able to return and compete on a professional level, should she choose to.

Williams last picked up her racket professionally in the 2022 US Open. The match ended with her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic. And ever since, she has not returned. However, according to The Tennis Letter over X, the recent ITIA update “Smells like a comeback.”

According to further reports, she applied for reinstatement back in August, after exploring the possibility of playing in last year’s US Open. However, her self-removal from the list 3 years ago made that impossible.

Williams has not confirmed anything about her comeback yet, but if that happens, it’ll mark a significant chapter in tennis. However, she has made a recent appearance elsewhere.

Serena Williams’ 2026 Super Bowl Ad

On February 9, Williams’ “Healthier on Ro” advert was aired during the first half of the Seahawks vs Patriots game at the Super Bowl. She promoted the weight-loss drug GLP-1, which she said helped her to lose over 30 pounds.

In that ad, Williams showed up in a tennis skirt, injected the medicine and ordered it from an online app. She also talked about her other experiences with the medication.

Even if there’s no direct connection between the medication and the ITIA list, it could distinctly point to the athlete’s fitness goal. Something one may want to achieve if they are preparing for a comeback.  

Plus, if she returns to the court, she’ll have March’s ATP-WTA 1000 Indian Wells as her option. There are also the remaining Grand Slams, including the French Open and Wimbledon.

Moreover, her sister Venus Williams is playing in the 2026 ATX Open in Austin, Texas. That is another comeback option.

With that being said, do you think Williams will actually return to the court? Comment your thoughts on this.

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Written by

Deblina Roy

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu