Leading tennis writer Ben Rothenberg has bad news for anyone buying into the claims that Serena Williams isn’t actually retired from tennis.
The American champion said she was ‘evolving away from tennis’ after the US Open last September, but refused to use the word ‘retirement’.
She has since hinted that she’s not finished with tennis and made staggering claims in October that she’s not actually retired. But according to Rothenberg and the WTA tour, she is.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the American journalist smacked down the myth that Williams hasn’t officially retired.
As Rothenberg pointed out, Williams has removed herself from the ITIA’s anti-doping testing pool and whereabouts program, and is no longer on the WTA rankings.
“I’ve gotten a lot of messages since Serena ‘evolved’ at the US Open asking about the likelihood of a comeback,” he tweeted. “In September, Serena officially retired, removing herself from the ITIA’s anti-doping testing pool and whereabouts program.
“By October, she’d also been removed from the WTA rankings. In order to return to tour, Serena (like any officially retired player) would need to re-enter the testing pool at least three months in advance of her return to competition. (You may recall this rule tripped up a planned Andy Roddick doubles cameo in 2014).
