Serena Williams Announces Comeback: "I Probably Will Play Again"

Serena Williams is not done writing endings.

At 44, four years after stepping away from the grind of the tour, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is back on court and openly plotting another swing at singles tennis.

Speaking on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday, Aug. 31, Williams said her return has been driven by something far bigger than nostalgia or unfinished business. It’s about her daughters, Olympia and Adira.

Her message to them is simple: “Anything is possible.”

That belief has already carried her into an unlikely second act. She eased back into competition earlier this year in doubles, then took the plunge at Wimbledon, playing her first singles match since her hiatus. Across the net stood 20-year-old Maya Joint, a player who grew up watching Serena dominate. Joint won in three sets, but the story that day was Williams’ presence, not the scoreline.

The comeback, though, came at a cost.

“I injured myself at Wimbledon. And I just didn't have time to recover, unfortunately,” Williams told interviewer Malika Andrews. She made another revealing admission: she refused to cling to a spot she didn’t feel she’d earned.

“I just didn't want to take any opportunities away from someone in terms of getting a wild card if I wasn't able to compete at a way that I knew I could,” she said.

That competitive standard has defined her career. It still does. Which is why the door to singles remains wide open.

Asked about her future, Williams didn’t hesitate.

“I probably will play again. I have to,” she said. “After some of those returns, I think I need to play at least once.”

Those “returns” have already lit up the US Open. Williams stepped into the revamped mixed doubles draw in New York, partnering Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at his request. The pairing was a box-office attraction and a reminder of how her name still bends a tournament’s energy.

They won their opening match, a glimpse of what her feel and fire still look like under the lights, before bowing out in the quarterfinals to Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli.

The story of her summer doesn’t end there.

Serena’s connection with New York runs deeper than any one event, and there is still business to finish at Flushing Meadows. She and her sister Venus, one of the most iconic doubles teams in tennis history, are back in the women’s doubles draw on a wild card.

Their reunion has already taken a hit once this month. Playing together for the first time since 2022, they lost their opening match in Cincinnati. The US Open offers a chance to reset, one more chapter for a partnership that has defined an era.

They’ll open their campaign later this week, with the familiar roar of Arthur Ashe Stadium and the weight of their shared history behind them.

Singles can wait a little longer. For Serena Williams, the comeback is no longer a question of if.

It’s a matter of when she decides the stage is big enough, and the moment worthy of yet another return.