Aryna Sabalenka reacts to Serena Williams comeback speculation

Speculation has been building ever since her name appeared in the ITIA drug-testing pool in December 2025, fueling talk of a comeback.

Initially, Williams played down the possibility. But during a chat with the ‘Today’ show, she didn’t exactly close the door on a return.

“That’s not a yes or a no,” she said when asked directly. “I don’t know, I’m just going to see what happens.”

Speaking after her win over Svitolina on Thursday, Sabalenka was positive about the idea of seeing Serena back in action.

Sabalenka went on to say: “I heard that she’s [Serena] enjoying her life, and whatever makes her happy, I’m happy for her. If she wants to come back, that’s her decision. It’s going to be fun to see her back on tour.”

Asked if it had become a topic of conversation among players in the locker room, Sabalenka replied: “I don’t know. No, we didn’t — me personally, I didn’t speak to anyone about that.

How Aryna Sabalenka has performed against Serena Williams

There’s only one previous meeting between Sabalenka and Williams, a clash that came at the 2021 Australian Open.

Sabalenka was ranked seventh in the world at the time, but it was Williams who came out on top, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the fourth round. Williams later reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion Naomi Osaka.

Reflecting on that match afterwards, Williams said: “It was obviously real important because I didn’t want to be out of the tournament, so it felt good to kind of clutch that in the end and get through that.”

She added: “Like I said on court, I just felt like even games that I lost, I was so close to winning. Not all games, but probably most of those games. I just needed to play better on the big points. I knew that I could. I still hadn’t reached my peak. I was like okay Serena you got this just keep going.”