Serena Williams threw cold water on the idea that she might be preparing to return to tennis, writing on social media Tuesday that she is “NOT coming back,” after a spokesman for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said the 23-time Grand Slam champion had registered with the sport's drug-testing body.

That is the first step that would be required by a player seeking to come out of retirement.

The 44-year-old Williams, one of the greats of the game, has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 U.S. Open . At the time, Williams said she didn't want to use the word “retiring” and instead declared that she was “evolving” away from tennis.

It was not clear when or where — or even if — Williams actually will play again , and she later posted: “Omg yall I'm NOT coming b

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