"Have my house in Melbourne for free and I'll drive you to Rod Laver" - Tennis fans hope Serena Williams' cryptic comeback hint turns into reality at Australian Open

Serena Williams has not ruled out a comeback to the tour, or rather, continuing on tour. During her recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Williams used a 'Tom Brady reference' to hint that there is still hope for the tennis world to see her play some more big tournaments, leaving tennis fans thrilled.

NFL legend Tom Brady made a comeback to the sport earlier this year, just 40 days after announcing his retirement. Williams announced her retirement a few weeks before the 2022 US Open and potentially played her final career match at the New York Grand Slam.

Fallon asked Williams whether a Brady-esque comeback was a possibility in her case, to which the 23-time Grand Slam champion had a cryptic reply which did not rule out a possible return.

"Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That’s what I want to say," Serena Williams said with a chuckle.

While Williams may not be quite serious about a comeback just yet, tennis fans flooded social media with requests for the American superstar, hoping to see her play at least one more Grand Slam tournament at the 2023 Australian Open.

"You have my house in Melbourne for free and I'll drive you to Rod Laver Serena Williams," read a post on Twitter.

Another fan highlighted how Williams played great tennis at the 2022 US Open and why she would be a serious contender at the Australian Open, with a few more matches and training under her belt before then.

"After watching her 3rd (round) at the US Open we all saw how her game get elevated every set during the usopen/ those returns, rally, serve and all control was unbelievable. I think if she can train super hard in off session, there would be such a fun to watch her in Australian Open," read another tweet.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Serena Williams' comments on The Tonight Show:

"I definitely have more to give and there is a lot more that I want to do" - Serena Williams on life away from tennis

2022 US Open - Day 5

Time will tell whether Serena Williams changes her mind and decides to return to the WTA tour. However, for the time being, Williams highlighted that she is excited to focus on all the things that she has not been able to do over the years owing to her tennis career. Williams said that she is motivated to continue contributing more to the world outside tennis.

The American superstar stated that retirement is not synonymous with relaxation for her and reiterated her focus on 'evolving' away from tennis.

"I think retirement is something that is super-earned that people work really hard for. I'm at an age where I definitely have more to give and there is a lot more that I want to do," Serena Williams said on The Tonight Show.

"I'm not gonna be relaxing, there is so much for me. I feel it’s more of an evolution of Serena and there are so many things that I have been wanting to do for so many years. I have such a passion for tennis for so long that I've never done it. But now it's time for me to like start to enjoy those things," she added.

Williams bowed out of the singles event at the 2022 US Open in the third round with a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic after a thrilling three-set battle.