Explained: Is Serena Williams making a tennis comeback?

Serena Williams' emotional US Open farewell tour seemed like an ideal tribute for any player bidding their final goodbye to the sport. However, the idea of a 'perfect sendoff' for Williams would probably be nothing less than winning the title.

That may or may not be a consideration given many factors, but the American continues to drop hints about her comeback to the tour, despite the fact that her 'evolution away from tennis' is yet to sink in for Williams herself.

During a recent interview, the 41-year-old revealed how she is still playing tennis on the court at home and that she had a 'weird' feeling after realizing that she is not training to compete in tournaments anymore. In that same interview, she dropped her latest comeback hint before joking about the same.

"I am not retired," Williams declared during her appearance at a TechCrunch conference, before adding, "The chances (of a return) are very high. You can come to my house, I have a court."

Williams continues to strongly maintain that she has not retired from tennis, even using the word 'evolution' as opposed to retirement in her farewell announcement weeks before the US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam winner has made that clear every time she is asked about 'retirement.'

After her third-round match against Ajla Tomljanovic at the 2022 US Open, which currently stands as her final career match, Williams suggested that her chances of playing in the 2023 Australian Open were remote, but she certainly did not rule it out. She said she was looking forward to "explore a different version of Serena" before stating that she was not thinking about Australia. Yet.

"I don't know. I'm not thinking about that. I always did love Australia, though," Serena Williams said during a press conference after her US Open exit.

"But yeah, you know what, I've come a long way since last year at Wimbledon. Just not sure if that was my last moment or not. Yeah, and it takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable. It takes a lot more than that. I'm ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena," she added.

Williams' career is a perfect example of the phrase "never say never" and she expressed that sentiment when speaking about the possibility of playing in Australia.

"You never know. I’ve learned in my career, never say never," Serena Williams said on the TODAY show.

Williams then teased the comeback idea yet again, this time during a chat with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. When Fallon asked her if she would 'pull a Tom Brady' and un-retire in the future, she dropped another cryptic hint.

"Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That's what I want to say," Serena Williams said on the same.

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"She might evolve back for doubles" - Venus Williams on Serena Williams

Serena Williams at the 2022 US Open.

Serena Williams' evolution from tennis signaled a stop not just to her illustrious singles career, but also her doubles career, which is equally significant to her legacy. All her 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and two Olympic doubles gold medals came with Venus Williams by her side, and her older sister herself is hopeful of a Serena Williams comeback.

If anyone can make her "evolve back," it will be Venus Williams, as the 7-time Grand Slam champion herself stated.

"I know for Serena I, we have had and lots of wins and even though she's evolving away from the sport, she might evolve back for doubles. Maybe I can get her to play," Venus Williams said in an interview on her YouTube channel.

Serena Williams' comeback remains a far-fetched possibility as, despite her many hints of late, the American great had initially stated that she plans to grow her family and focus more on her venture capital firm Serena Ventures, both of which are only possible if she is away from full-time tennis.

It will be interesting to see if she does make some sort of a comeback in the future, probably for a short term or in a special appearance at a Major.