Venus Williams, 45, and Serena Williams, 44, continue to steal headlines decades after their debut.
The Williams sisters aren’t competing for Grand Slams anymore, but their popularity remains sky high.
Venus Williams is still competing on tour, but Serena Williams retired in 2022, although rumours of a potential comeback continue to circulate.
It’s the end of the 2026 season… How many matches has Venus Williams won this year? Where is she ranked? Let us know in the comments👇
During Venus Williams’ first-round Miami Open defeat to Francesca Jones, Annabel Croft shared her ‘hunch’ about Serena Williams’ possible return.
Annabel Croft believes Serena Williams will return for Venus Williams’ retirement at the US Open
Croft said the following during Sky Sports’ Miami Open coverage.
“I don’t think any of us really know, and they have been very good at that the whole way through their careers; they keep everybody guessing,” said Croft.
“My hunch is that she [Serena Williams] is coming back to play doubles with her [Venus Williams] at the US Open.
“Might even turn up maybe even earlier than that, possibly, who knows, could be Wimbledon, couldn’t it?
“But I feel like Venus might retire at the US Open, and so therefore it would be quite fitting to go out with her sister.
“But I don’t know, I could be completely wrong.
“Maybe Serena has every intention of coming back to play singles, I don’t know.”
Croft believes Serena Williams will come back to play doubles with Venus Williams at the US Open before the latter retires.
It’s certainly an interesting theory, and one that makes a lot of sense.
At 44 and 45, the chances are that neither sister will make deep runs at singles tournaments.
Doubles is a different story.
While Venus Williams lost nine consecutive singles matches on the WTA Tour, she enjoyed success in doubles.
Partnered with Leylah Fernandez, a player 22 years her junior, Williams reached the quarterfinals of the US Open doubles event in 2025.
There’s no reason why she can’t perform just as well, if not better, with her sister beside her in 2026.
During their best years, the Williams sisters won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together.
Who knows? If they can roll back the years at the US Open, perhaps number 15 could be on the cards…
Why is everyone so sure that Serena Williams is returning?
Serena Williams re-entered the anti-doping testing pool last year.
Most tennis players, past and present, agreed that the only reason you would do such a thing is if you were at least considering a comeback.
Williams initially dismissed the rumours, but failed to do so during an appearance on Australian television earlier this year.
Shortly after, WTA star Alycia Parks revealed that she had been training with Serena Williams, and claimed she would ‘kill it on tour’ during an interview with Tennis Majors.
After her first-round match in Miami, Parks commented on Williams’ comeback again.
“I don’t know if she’s coming back, I don’t know when she’s coming back,” she said.
The 25-year-old didn’t give away much, and that’s not surprising.
With all due respect, if Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, is going to return to tennis, the announcement deserves more gravitas than a post-match interview from the world number 105.
But it remains to be seen if we will ever get that highly anticipated announcement.
The rumours aren’t unfounded, but until we hear confirmation from Serena Williams, they are just that: rumours.
Only time will tell if we will see Serena Williams play tennis again, but it will certainly be something to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
