Serena Williams Mocks ‘Naive’ Fans and Media for Comeback Hype: ‘My Legacy is Done with You People
Serena Williams poured cold water on the wildfire that started following the appearance of her name on the list of players registered for the drug testing pool, but the flames are still burning.
On the back of announcing she is “evolving away from tennis”, the tennis great played her last match in September 2022 and, as per official protocol, her name was added to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) retired list.
Although the American’s name still appears on the retired list, she was recently added to the ITIA’s International Registered Testing Pool (IRTP) with many believing it signalled her intention to return to tennis.
The sport’s registered drug testing pool requires individuals to state their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing and players can return to official tournaments once they have made themselves available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
News of the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s name on the IRTP set off a wildfire about a possible return as early as April 2026, but the former world No 1 quickly took to social media to deny the claims.
“I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
So that’s the end of that?
Not so quickly as many journalists questioned her decision to add her name to the list with Ben Rothenberg asking: “Then why did you apply to reenter the testing pool?”
Then why did you apply to reenter the testing pool?
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) December 2, 2025
And Serena Williams fans decided to have some fun with their replies on social media and we have decided to select some of the good ones.
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Perhaps one of the best memes was on Reddit as one reader went down the Formula 1 road and used Oscar Piastri’s famous 2022 tweet to deny claims by Alpine F1 that he would drive for them in the 2023 season. He promptly went on to sign for McLaren.
The user wrote: “I understand that, without my agreement, Ben Rothenberg has put out a press release late this afternoon that I am preparing a return to tennis next year. This is wrong and I will not be coming back to tennis in 2026. I will not be coming back to tennis next year.”
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Another Reddit user said: “She’s gonna quote tweet this in 6 months when the wimbledon doubles wild cards are released being like ‘just kidding ’ you heard it here first.”
A sensible theory: “My theory is she wants to be able to compete if she feels like it later but doesn’t have firm plans right now. i wouldn’t be surprised if she wanted to do something at the USO but couldn’t because she didn’t meet this requirement.”
You just wait…”Idk I feel like she didn’t intend for everyone to figure it out this early and wants to throw everyone off the scent until the official announcement. It’s just too weird for her to add herself back to testing if she didn’t have any modicum of interest in returning. I feel like maybe she’s trying to keep her options open in case she does decide to make a push for LA 2028 with Venus, but hasn’t decided for sure that she’s going to do it yet.”
Over on X one fan wrote: “Serena, girl. This is what people say when they are indeed coming back.”
Another stated: “Wait hold up…
“I cracked the code.
“Is that because “WE” are coming back instead, as in you and V for doubles?!!
“I see you girl. ”
There was also this… “Well i simply don’t believe that. see you back on the court soon.”
Someone else added: “…and it’s not up to you, WeTheSerenaFans have spoken. Breaking Serena will play one last Wimbledon ”
And one of the famous ones: “So you’re saying there’s a chance…”
Another added: “This is the biggest heartbreak since Nadal announced his retirement. “
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