"We've all seen the footage of Serena. Rip! She's ready physically" - Mouratoglou urges for Williams to return to tennis after clip of her on court

Patrick Mouratoglou has shared his eagerness for Serena Williams to make a return to the court in 2026, praising recent footage of her on the court.

The rumour mill went into overdrive recently when her name was spotted on the ITIA’s Registered Testing Pool after she applied for reinstatement. According to the ITIA's anti-doping regulations, players must be able to provide regular whereabouts for regular doping tests. Signing up for this confirms that you will be needed to be in a certain environment for one hour each year in the case of an unannounced drug test. 

This meant that she could make her return to the court in six months. This obviously got the tennis fans hugely excited. Williams is a legend of the sport, already achieving so much in a decorated two decades in the sport. This includes 23 single Grand Slam titles, 10 of which coming with Mouratoglou in a very successful partnership together from 2012 to her inevitable retirement in 2022.

However, these rumours were quickly shut down by the former world number one. She took to social media as she wrote: “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy-“ This firmly halted any rumours of a highly anticipated comeback, following in the footsteps of her sister Venus Williams. The seven-time Grand Slam champion returned to the sport at the start of the North American hardcourt swing, winning a match at the DC Open in the singles and doubles event before bowing out. She also featured in the Cincinnati Open and US Open, making it to the quarter-finals in the major event with Leylah Fernandez before going down to the top seeds. She is continuing her comeback at the ASB Classic as a wildcard, looking raring to go for a possible appearance at the Australian Open.

The French coach was hugely passionate about her possible return, citing a clip of the 44-year-old on court looking in a great physical condition.

"I would love to see in 2026 a comeback from Serena. Why not? We've all seen the footage of Serena. Rip! She's ready physically," he said on Instagram. "She's worked hard. She looks so fit, so ready. She loves tennis."

He is not the only one wishing for her return. 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has also echoed these calls, among a number of players and fans. "Novak said he would love to see her back. She posted a video of herself playing tennis," he stated. "So why not? I would love to see if she can compete at the age she has without playing one single tournament for three years, giving birth for the second time."

There may be some concerns of her overall level if she makes a comeback, but Mouratoglou has brushed them off. "Can she compete with the best? Because she's Serena, she's the best of all times," he confidently said. "What is her level? I would love to see that and I know I'm not the only one."

Williams won her first Grand Slam in her home event back in 1999. She went on to win another eight Grand Slams before eventually becoming world number one for the first time in 2008 after losing to her sister in the final of Wimbledon. When Mouratoglou came into her camp, Williams was in a bit of a lull in her career. She had made just one final in seven Grand Slam events and was not at her best. When teaming up with Mouratoglou, she instantly went back to her best, winning four of the next major events. She would remain as the world number one from February 2013 to September 2016. In this time period she collected a whole host of accolades including another seven major titles from nine finals reached. Her final Grand Slam title came at the Australian Open against her sister, with Williams eight weeks pregnant. She made a return to the sport in 2018 and despite making four major finals, she never added to the 23 singles titles collected, wrapping up her tennis career at the end of 2022.