Serena Williams Says She’s ‘Not Retired’—She Would Join A League Of Sporting Giants Who Made A Comeback

Serena Williams says she has “not retired” from tennis and will likely return to the sport in the future, the latest sporting star to tease a comeback after indicating she would finish her legendary career on court this summer after the U.S. Open to focus on her family.

“I am not retired,” Williams said last week when speaking about her investment company, Serena Ventures, at a TechCrunch conference in California.

Williams said the chances of her returning to the sport are “very high,” joking that you can go to her house and see that she’s “got a court.”

The comments seemingly backtrack on Williams announcing her retirement earlier this year, when the athlete told Vogue she was “evolving away from tennis” after the U.S. Open.

Though the star did not formally announce her retirement, her comments were widely interpreted and reported as a farewell and Williams received tributes befitting the retirement of an athlete considered one the best in the world.

Williams is far from the only athlete to make a comeback after teasing, or even entering, retirement and this year NFL star Tom Brady u-turned on his planned retirement and announced he would return to compete in a 23rd season.

Other athletes have also staged stellar comebacks, including basketball legend Michael Jordan, who exited retirement and won three more NBA titles after returning, and swimmer Michael Phelps, who unretired and won five gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games.

By Robert Hart