Serena Williams refuses to rule out tennis comeback in 'TODAY' interview

Nearly two months ago, Serena Williams appeared to emphatically shut down any rumors of an impending competitive comeback to tennis when reports of her reentering the drug testing pool—which all players are required to be in to compete—started circulating online.

"Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-," Williams wrote in a Dec. 2 post on X, formerly Twitter.

But this week on NBC's Today, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion was much more non-committal.

Williams appeared on the morning show this week to discuss, among other topics, her upcoming Super Bowl ad for Ro, a health company that markets and prescribes GLP-1 drugs, and her sister Venus Williams' recent wedding. But the comments that generated the most interest came when she was pressed by co-host Savannah Guthrie about any intentions for a comeback.

Read more: Whether Serena Williams returns or not, interest and debate will follow

“I mean, really? Are you asking this on the 'TODAY' show?' Oh my goodness,” Williams said, glancing around the studio and drawing laugher from on-set staffers.

"I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now," she added.

Williams shares daughters Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2, with her entrepreneur husband Alexis Ohanian, and said she considers herself a “full-time, stay-at-home” mom. She even went so far as to label her occupation as “housewife” on a recent form, after famously choosing to not describe her final season to-date in 2022 as retirement.

But as Gutherie pressed about her purportedly applying to reenter the testing pool, Williams said, laughing: “Did I reenter? I don’t know if I was out. Listen, I can’t discuss this."

“OK, I’m just saying if I wanted to put it to bed, this would be a good moment. To put the retirement rumors to bed,” Guthrie responded.

Williams then quipped: “I want to go to bed. It’s early.”

Fan and media speculation around any sort of comeback by the former world No. 1 has fueled significant interest, particularly centered around the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Williams sisters won the gold medal in doubles in 2000, 2008 and 2012.

But when Venus Williams, 45, returned to the tennis circuit last summer after more than a year away from the sport herself, she too said that she had no Serena-related news to break. Asked then about her sister's intentions, she said: "I don't ask those questions."

“We always did everything together, so of course I miss her. But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know," the elder of the two sisters said.

“I think we always hit the ball, because that’s who we are. We’re always hitting," Venus Williams added.