Serena Williams has firmly quashed rumours of an imminent return to professional tennis despite taking a significant step that sparked widespread speculation. Over her remarkable 26-year career, Williams amassed virtually every accolade the sport has to offer.

The American secured 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record in the Open Era, alongside 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns with her sister Venus, while also claiming four Olympic gold medals across 2000, 2008, and 2012. However, despite her unparalleled success, it appeared that Williams may not be entirely finished with the sport. On Tuesday, the 44-year-old notified the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) of her intention to rejoin the International Registered Testing Pool.

Whilst countless tennis enthusiasts interpreted this as a potential precursor to a competitive comeback, Williams swiftly poured cold water on such suggestions via social media. Posting on X on Tuesday, she declared: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-.”

The testing pool primarily comprises the world’s top 100 men’s and women’s singles competitors, leading doubles and wheelchair athletes, plus players seeking to compete following extended absences.

Speaking to The Athletic, ITIA spokesman Adrian Bassett clarified that Williams’ inclusion in the pool didn’t automatically signal a return to action, though it did leave that door ajar.

“She has notified us that she wants to be reinstated into the testing pool,” Bassett said. “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.”

This isn’t the first occasion Williams has fuelled speculation about a possible return to competition. In April, the American told Time Magazine of her belief that she could still perform at an elite level.

“I miss it a lot, with all my heart,” she stated. “I miss it because I’m healthy. If I couldn’t walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much.”

Nevertheless, Williams recognised the difficulty of juggling professional obligations with raising a family. She and her husband Alexis Ohanian are parents to two daughters, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. (Olympia) and Adira River Ohanian, born in 2017 and 2023 respectively.

“I just can’t peel myself away from these children,” Williams said. “Another reason I had to transition was because I wanted to have more kids. And I look at Adira and I’m like, ‘Was it worth it?’ I literally thought about it the other day. I was like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely worth it.'”

Although Williams has wholeheartedly embraced motherhood since her final professional appearance at the 2022 US Open, she has never definitively closed the door on a potential comeback.

In a piece written for Vogue in August 2022, the Michigan-born star deliberately avoided using the word “retirement”, preferring instead to describe her departure as an “evolution.

“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution,” Williams wrote. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

This article first appeared on Daily Express US.