"I am not retired, the chances of me returning are very high" - Serena Williams continues to drop comeback hints

It is starting to look like it is a case of when – and not if – Serena Williams will make a tennis comeback after she admitted that the “chances are very high” that she will return.

After playing very little tennis over the past year due to injury and family life, tennis great Williams announced in August that she is to “evolve away” from tennis, indicating that the US Open is likely to be her last professional tournament.

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The tennis community gave her a brilliant sendoff at Flushing Meadows as many believed she was retiring, but she has dropped several hints after the tournament that she could return.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner has twice referred to NFL great Tom Brady “starting an amazing trend” as he made several U-turns after announcing his retirement.

And during a TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco, she was adamant as she told the host: “I am not retired.”

When told it sounded like she is “on the fence a little bit”, she replied: “The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court.”

Earlier in the interview, the former world No 1 explained that she is still trying to find a balance now that she no longer has to get up for tennis every day.

“I didn’t even think about the whole retirement,” she said.

“I still haven’t really thought about it. But I did go on the court the other day and [realised] for the first time in my life that I’m not playing for a competition and that felt very weird.

“It was like the first day of the rest of my life, and so far, I am enjoying it. But I’m still trying to find that balance.”

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And even if she doesn’t return to competitive tennis, Williams has made it clear that she will stay involved in the sport in some capacity.

“I feel like tennis has given me so much,” the American said after the US Open. “I feel like there’s no way I don’t want to be involved in tennis somehow in the future.

“I don’t know what that involvement is yet but I do know that I love the sport so much, I love the game. I love everything about it. I have just been such a light in my life. I definitely want to keep something involved in that.”

But for now she is very much focusing on her business, Serena Ventures, which aims to help start-up companies whose perspectives and innovations level the playing field for women and people of color.