Despite insisting that he was not plotting a comeback, Serena Williams you are about to be reinstated as an active tennis player in the eyes of the International Tennis Integrity Agency.
The agency added Williams, 44, to its reinstatement list, effective February 22, 2026, once he completes his six-month waiting period after re-entering an anti-doping test.
“Serena’s comeback is now official,” said a tennis reporter Ben Rothenbergg, who first shared a screenshot of Williams’ name on the reinstatement list using his own Bumpers blog.
News of Williams’ comeback comes one day after he was in the news for appearing in a Super Bowl commercial for weight loss company Ro. (Her husband, Alexis Ohanianis on Ro’s board.)
“I’m on Ro. 34 pounds down on Ro,” he said in the ad, which aired during the Seattle Seahawks’ win over the New England Patriots. “Healthier on Ro. Powered by Ro. FDA-approved, GLP-1 options now even on the pill. The weight loss expert I trust. I move better on Ro. I feel better on Ro. I’m Serena Williams. This is me on Ro.”
“I feel better now than I have in years,” Williams said in a statement promoting the ad. For me, this journey has been about feeling stronger, stronger, and healthier in my body; I feel like myself again. Being on Ro helped me focus my life in a way that really worked for me, and I’m happy to share my feelings with millions of people during the Super Bowl.”
Williams has been open about his decision to take GLP-1 in the past. He also revealed his weight loss in an interview in August 2025 People.
“It was crazy because I had never been in a place like that in my life where I was working so hard, eating healthy and not being able to get down to where I needed to be,” she said. “I have never taken shortcuts in my career and I have always worked hard. I know what it takes to be the best.”
As of 2026, professional tennis has not blocked GLP-1s, but that could change soon. The World Anti-Doping Agency has added these drugs to its monitoring program, which means the agency is still researching the impact of this platform on athletes.
For Williams, that might work if she does, in fact, return to tennis — something she denied on X when news broke that she had re-entered the testing zone last year.
“Omg yall I will NEVER come back,” he wrote about X at the time. “This wildfire is crazy.”
He avoided the rumors on January 28, when he appeared Today and the host Savannah Guthrieand pressed him on the subject.
Vanessa Williams has opened up about taking “game changing” weight loss drugs. Williams, 62, opened up about taking Mounjaro for two years during an interview with Hello Magazine on Monday, January 12. “It’s a game changer,” she said of the drug, an injectable for Type 2 diabetes that also causes weight loss. The actor explained, “When I turned 60, […]
“I mean, really? Today show? Oh my god,” said Williams.
After some back and forth, Guthrie, 54, asked if Williams’ escape was a “no.”
“I’m having fun and enjoying my life right now,” Williams replied. “I’ll see what happens.”
“That’s a ‘maybe’ for me,” Guthrie said.
Williams insisted, “That’s not a ‘maybe’.
