Indian Wells? Miami? Wimbledon? When and where could Serena Williams make potential tennis comeback?
Published 24/02/2026 at 18:29 GMT
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Serena Williams could make a stunning return to tennis this year. The 44-year-old has not played since the 2022 US Open but is eligible to compete again after her six-month re-entry period into the drug testing pool expired on February 22. Where could Williams, a 23-time slam winner, make her return to tennis? Will it be at Indian Wells or Miami? Or further along this year?
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Serena Williams has not confirmed her tennis comeback, but the signs are pointing to a return.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has not played a competitive match since losing in the third round of the US Open in 2022.
But her re-entry to the drug testing pool in October 2025 started talk of a return and now, six months later, she is eligible to compete again.
Williams has not confirmed a comeback - while also refusing to rule it out in a recent interview - but former coach Rick Macci thinks it is on the cards.
Former world No. 9 Andrea Petkovic has also said she expects Williams to return to the tour - and not just to play doubles with sister Venus.
"I have been in the doping protocols for 16 years," Petkovic said on Tennis Channel.
"Nobody signs up for a 5am warning call to pee in a cup in front of a person with you in the bathroom for doubles.
"I’m sorry. With all due respect to everybody who is playing doubles, nobody does that voluntarily."
If it seems now likely that Williams will return to the WTA Tour, the question now is when and where?
Could Williams return in Indian Wells?
The first option for Williams to start her comeback appears to be Indian Wells.
The WTA 1000 tournament is one of the biggest on tour outside the four Grand Slams and there are still wildcard slots available, with Venus already receiving a wildcard for both singles and doubles.
Williams is a two-time champion at Indian Wells, which starts on March 4, but boycotted the event for 14 years after she, along with family members, was booed and heckled in the 2001 final.
Williams returned to Indian Wells in 2015 and played there four more times before her retirement.
The next tournament on the calendar after Indian Wells is the Miami Open, which starts on March 17.
Miami is another WTA 1000 event which Williams has won eight times.
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Sabalenka gives views on Serena Williams' possible shock return to tennis
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Could Williams return on clay?
If Williams does not return at Indian Wells or Miami then next on the calendar is the clay swing.
Clay was not a favoured surface for Williams towards the back end of her career.
After winning the Italian Open for a fourth time in 2016 she only played there twice more and she has not played Madrid since 2015.
With the physical nature of clay-court tennis it seems unlikely that Williams would plan her comeback around the surface.
However, there are other clay events in Stuttgart, Strasbourg and Linz that Williams could enter if she wanted to prepare for the French Open, which starts on May 24.
Will Williams wait until summer?
Another option for Williams might be to hold out until the grass swing.
Williams won Wimbledon seven times and grass is usually viewed as the least physically demanding surface. Her powerful game might also still be best suited to grass.
There are events at Queen’s and Eastbourne before Wimbledon starts on June 29.
Williams' final match at Wimbledon saw her beaten in the first round by Harmony Tan.
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Svitolina reacts to Serena Williams' shock potential return to tennis
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Williams was asked following the loss if she would be back at Wimbledon.
"That’s a question I can’t answer," she said. "Like, I don’t know. Who knows?"
If Williams does return to tennis this year it seems likely she will want to play the North American swing in the summer.
There's the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open in the summer before the US Open from August 30.
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