Serena Williams' Training Partner Adds Fuel to Rumors That the Tennis Icon Is Making a Comeback
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Credit: Jason Koerner/Getty; Michael Kovac/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Serena Williams has been training multiple times a week with professional tennis player Alycia Parks, who has fans thinking the 23-time Grand Slam champion is making a comeback
- Parks says Williams is fit and hitting the ball well
- Williams, who last played professionally in 2022, has said she is not retired and prefers to describe her career shift as an "evolution"
Serena Williams is getting back into the swing of things.
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The 23-time Grand Slam champion, 44, has been the subject of comeback speculation in recent months, and now her training partner is adding fuel to the rumors.
Alycia Parks, a professional tennis player currently on the ATP Tour, spoke with the Tennis Channel on Thursday, March 19 about recently sparring with Williams, revealing that they hit together multiple times a week.
Alycia Parks plays in the 2026 Miami OpenCredit: Al Bello/Getty
"I did text her when I was in the Middle East and I was like, 'Hey, can you practice when I come back to the States?' and she was like, 'Yeah, let's go,' " Parks said of Williams, who has served as a mentor to the 25-year-old athlete on tour.
"So we got in a few sessions and yeah, she's been helping me. When I'm home, I would say probably three times a week," Parks added.
Parks, who has won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, also shared an update on Williams' game with the Tennis Channel.
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(L-R) Serena Williams and Alycia Parks at the 2025 US OpenCredit: Alycia Parks/Instagram
"She's hitting good," she said of the mom of two, who shares daughters Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., 8, and Adira River Ohanian, 2, with her husband Alexis Ohanian. "Yeah, she's definitely fit. She looks great and she's hitting the ball amazing," added Parks.
As for a potential comeback by Williams, who hasn't played in a professional match since the 2022 US Open, Parks played coy.
"I don't know if she's coming back, I don't know when she's coming back," she made clear. "We just go to practice, we don't really talk too much about her coming back. It's just like fun stuff."
Serena Williams plays at the 2022 US OpenCredit: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty
In 2022, Williams played her final competitive match at the US Open, but was very careful about saying she was "not retired" at the time. "The chances of me returning are very high," she told The San Francisco Standard that year. "You can come to my house and [see], I have a court."
In an August 2022 essay for Vogue, Williams said she "never liked the word retirement" and prefers to see herself as in a "transition" away from the sport. "I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution," she wrote.
In December 2025, Williams shut down rumors of a comeback after The Athletic reported that she has requested to reenter the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA)'s International Registered Testing Pool, a requirement for active players for drug testing.
"Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-," the tennis star wrote in a post on X on Tuesday, Dec. 2 after fans got excited about a potential return.
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