Serena Williams could burst back onto the professional tennis scene after she dropped a hint at a return to the sport following her retirement in two years ago, suggesting she needs some competition.

Williams called time on her career in the sport in September 2022 after amassing an incredible 23 Grand Slam singles wins as well as leading the WTA rankings for a total of 319 weeks (186 consecutively) to become regarded as the finest female tennis player of all-time.

Instead, she embarked on a new journey by becoming a mother to two children with Alexis Ohanian (co-founder of Reddit) in 2017 and 2023 but now finds herself wanting to get back into the sport that dominated the first 35 years of her life.

“I love the sport. I love the game. I definitely want to play,” Williams told Mary Joe Fernandez at the 2024 US Open. “I don’t know if I would play professional [again].

“But I need some competition in my life. I haven’t decided what that competition is. I just picked up the racquet [again] because I love the sport. On a professional level, I’m not sure I could do that right now.”

Williams even picked up the racquet to hit some balls at the 2024 US Open, although it was nothing too intense, before she settled down to watch Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula compete and described the non-pro atmosphere as less stressful.

“It’s definitely different,” Williams added of the atmosphere at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I like it.

“I like coming out, cheering, and not having all that anxiety like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to go practice.”

The Women’s Singles final of the 2024 US Open will take place on Sunday, September 8 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center but will not feature the defending champion, Coco Gauff, who lost to Emma Navarro 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Likewise, the Men’s Singles final will not see the defending champion Novak Djokovic when it takes place at 14:00 ET/11:00 PT on September 8 after he was beaten by Alexei Popyrin, and it will also not include Carlos Alcaraz who lost to Botic van de Zandschulp.