The GOAT is back! Serena Williams surprised fans the morning of June 1 with news of an un-retirement of sorts.
The 44-year-old athlete, often dubbed the "greatest of all time" in the world of tennis, revealed on Monday morning that she'll be back on the court once again in a week.
© Getty ImagesThe Queen's Club Championships, also known as the HSBC Championships, shared on X that Serena has been confirmed as a wildcard for the Doubles championship. Queen's officially begins on June 8.
"THE QUEEN RETURNS," their caption read, which Serena herself then cryptically confirmed on her own social media page with a video collab with sponsor Nike, captioning it: "Good news travels fast."
Immediately, fans were ecstatic, with fellow player Caroline Wozniacki simply dropping a flame and applause emoji, and one follower commenting: "Holy moly. I wasn't ready. But BRING IT ON!!!!! It's official." Another added: "WELCOME BACK MAMA!!!" with a third saying: "Queen dragging me back to tennis!"
The Queen's Club Championships are seen as an unofficial testing ground for Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, although at this point, it is unclear whether Serena will play at Wimbledon or the US Open later in the summer.
In December 2025, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had confirmed that the mom-of-two was officially registered in the sport's drug testing pool, a months-long procedure for athletes to comply with anti-doping norms before going pro.
However, Serena herself shut down any talk of a comeback by going to X and tweeting out: "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy." She was similarly cryptic when she appeared on NBC's TODAY a month later with anchor Savannah Guthrie.
When Savannah asked whether she intended to come back, Serena refused to go one way or the other, simply laughing it off and adding: "I'm just having fun and enjoying my life right now," saying she wants to "see what happens."
Savannah then mentioned that she did "reenter," to which Serena quipped back: "Did I reenter? I don't know if I was out. Listen, I can't discuss this," and instead of wanting to "put it to bed," she joked: "I want to go to bed!"
© Getty ImagesIn 2022, Serena announced her "evolution" away from the sport in Vogue's September issue, saying at the time: "I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me."
She added: "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."
© Getty Images"Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me." At the time, Serena and her husband Alexis Ohanian shared one daughter, Olympia. They've since welcomed a second, Adira, born in August 2023.
