- The 23-time Grand Slam winner retired in 2022
Tennis legend Jim Courier has no doubt Serena Williams is preparing for a bombshell return to the sport despite a recent denial from the 23-time Grand Slam winner.
Speculation that Williams, 44, could again grace the WTA tour in some capacity has increased after her name was spotted on the Registered Testing Pool (RTP).
The Whereabouts program – which Williams has rejoined – requires professional athletes to provide their location for one hour each day.
This allows drug testers to show up unannounced and take a sample.
‘You have an app, [Whereabouts program], where you give one hour a day when you have to be there,’ Courier told Wide World of Sports.
‘No person without intentions to play professional tennis is going to put themselves on that list.
Tennis legend Jim Courier has no doubt Serena Williams is preparing for a bombshell return to the sport – despite a recent denial from the 23-time Grand Slam winner
Speculation that Williams (pictured at the 2021 Australian Open) could again grace the WTA tour has increased after her name was spotted on the Registered Testing Pool
‘I think unless she gets injured, there is no doubt she (Williams) is going to play somewhere at some point.
‘Whether that’s mixed doubles at the US Open, doubles with her sister (Venus) somewhere, whether it’s singles, only she knows.’
Williams – arguably the greatest women’s tennis player of all time – last played at the 2022 US Open, where she lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
In December, the mother-of-two played down talks of a possible return.
She denied a report from leading tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg, posting on X: ‘Omg y’all I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy.’
Williams has also lost 13kg with the help of GLP-1 weight-loss drug Zepbound.
GLP-1s are not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and are not included on the 2026 list of prohibited substances for athletes.
In a recent interview with Net-A-Porter, Williams spoke in-depth about the scrutiny she faced during her decorated career.
Courier stated: ‘there is no doubt she’s going to play somewhere at some point’
‘In tennis you can’t really be yourself, which sounds weird, but you have to keep a veil up, you can’t be too vulnerable,’ she said.
She was also asked whether she missed the sport, adding: ‘Not as much as I have previously. No matter how prepared you are to retire, and particularly from doing something every day at such a high level (for so many years), it’s hard.
‘I really prepped myself the best way I could, but it’s something that’s still a little difficult.’
Williams turned pro in 1995 and won her first major at the US Open four years later.
She amassed almost $95million in career earnings, the highest all-time amount for a female player.
