In 2022, Serena Williams announced her "evolution" away from tennis. Four years later, she is back, and her influence on the sport is as powerful as ever.

Serena's return has quickly become one of the biggest stories in sports, driving ticket sales, media attention, and global conversation. It also serves as a reminder of a simple reality: few athletes in history have had more impact on - or created more value for - their sport than Serena Williams.

Serena’s Comeback Timeline: 

• August 9, 2022: Announces her "evolution" away from professional tennis in a first-person essay for Vogue. 

• December 2, 2025: It becomes public that Serena has re-entered the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) anti-doping testing pool, the first formal step required for a potential return to professional tennis.

• February 22, 2026: Serena becomes officially eligible to return to professional competition after completing the required testing period.

• June 1, 2026: Announced she was returning to play doubles in the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club in London. Serena ultimately competed alongside Victoria Mboko as her doubles partner.

• June 15, 2026: Played doubles with Karolina Muchova at the Berlin Open. 

• June 16, 2026: Wimbledon announces that Serena and Venus Williams have accepted a doubles wild card, reuniting at Wimbledon for the first time since 2022.

• June 21, 2026: Wimbledon awards Serena the final women's singles wild card, confirming her first singles appearance at the tournament since 2022.

 

GOAT Status: Serena isn't just one of the greatest tennis players ever. She's one of the greatest athletes, period.

• 23 Grand Slam singles titles 

• World No. 1 for 319 weeks

• Completed the "Serena Slam" twice, simultaneously holding all four Grand Slam titles

• 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with Venus Williams

• Four Olympic gold medals (three in doubles with Venus and one in singles in 2012)

• More than $94 million in career prize money
  
  

Serena's Impact: Let’s talk about Serena’s impact on the business of tennis. 

• 5 of the 10 most-watched tennis matches in all of U.S. television history – men’s or women’s – featured Serena Williams. Read that again.

• 2013 U.S. Open Final – Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka – 6.17 million viewers

• 2015 U.S. Open Quarterfinal – Venus Williams vs. Serena Williams – 6.0 million viewers

• 2022 U.S. Open Third Round – Serena Williams vs. Ajla Tomljanović – 4.8 million viewers

• 2019 U.S. Open Final – Serena Williams vs. Bianca Andreescu – 4.0 million viewers

• 2022 U.S. Open Second Round – Serena Williams vs. Anett Kontaveit – 3.6 million viewers

• The last time Serena played in the U.S. Open in 2022 – which was her last tournament before she stepped away from tennis – she generated historic demand.

• Her first round match drew 29,402 fans, setting a record for the largest attendance ever recorded for an evening session at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

• Serena broke her own record two nights later when her second-round match drew a record 29,959 fans. 

• Her third and final match of the tournament was also played in front of a sold-out crowd of 29,837, and attracted 4.8 million TV viewers, making it the most-watched tennis telecast in ESPN history.

• Her first return to the court since the 2022 U.S. Open at the 2026 HSBC Championships at Queen's Club in London drove significant results for the tournament: 

• Tournament sell-through increased to 95% capacity, up from 88% the previous year

• Sold-out tickets for her match day

• Social media engagement increased by roughly 300%
  

Worth Noting: Serena’s impact extends far beyond women’s tennis into all of women’s sports. She isn't just participating in the growth of women's sports as one of the greatest women athletes in history – she's helping fund it through investments across the women's sports ecosystem, including: 

• Investor in the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA's first Canadian franchise

• Founding investor in Angel City FC

• Investor in Unrivaled through Serena Ventures

 

The Takeaway? For decades, Serena has been so much more than a champion. She’s been an economic engine for women’s sports, attracting audiences, sponsors, broadcasters, and new generations of fans. Serena Williams isn’t just the GOAT – she’s big business.

 

MEET CAROLINE FITZGERALD