Serena Williams is widely considered to be the greatest female tennis player in history.
The American star, a winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, announced in 2022 that she would be ‘evolving away from tennis’ following her appearance at the US Open.
Since the 2022 US Open, Serena has stayed away from professional tennis. However, earlier this year, fans were sent into a frenzy upon hearing that the American star had re-registered with the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s [ITIA] anti-doping testing pool.
Serena was quick to shut down any rumours of a return to the Tour. On X [Twitter] she said: “Omg y’all I’m not coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”
Despite Serena’s denial, tennis fans will continue to wonder whether Serena’s return to the sport is a feasible possibility.
Patrick Mouratoglou, one of Serena’s old coaches, has discussed this matter on social media.
Patrick Mouratoglou says he would love to see Serena Williams return to tennis
“I would love to see in 2026 a comeback from Serena,” Mouratoglou said in a post on Instagram.
“Why not? We’ve all seen the footage of Serena ripped, she’s ready physically. She’s worked hard. She looks so fit, so ready.
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“She loves tennis. Novak said he would love to see her back. She posted a video of herself playing tennis, so why not?
“I would love to see if she can compete at the age she has without playing one single tournament for three years, giving birth for the second time.
“Can she compete with the best? Because she’s Serena, she’s the best of all time.
“What is her level? I would love to see that, and I know I’m not the only one.”
Mouratoglou famously coached Serena for a decade-long period between 2012 and 2022. During that period, Serena won 10 Grand Slam singles titles.
One cannot completely rule out Serena making a comeback in 2026. After all, she has previously hinted at returning to the sport.
Mouratoglou felt like he was ‘done with coaching’ following Serena’s departure
In 2022, Mouratoglou and Serena Williams parted ways ahead of the French Open.
Following the split, Mouratoglou admitted that his commitment to coaching was wavering.
During a sports festival in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, as reported by TNT Sports, the Frenchman said: “After Serena decided to take a break, I confessed to my loved ones that I feel like I’m done with coaching.
“I knew that one of my strengths was that I had a lot of enthusiasm for my work. Without this enthusiasm, I can’t be a good coach. I felt like I had lost it.”
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However, a short time later, Mouratoglou agreed to become Simona Halep’s trainer in the lead up to Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
