Speculation about Serena Williams making a return to the professional tennis circuit has been ongoing for some time. Alycia Parks, who recently trained with the 23-time singles Grand Slam champion, shared her thoughts on how Williams is performing on the court and how her form is holding up.
Rumors about Williams potentially returning to the WTA Tour gained traction in Dec. 2025 after her name appeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s (ITIA) anti-doping testing pool list.
Alycia Parks Makes Her Feelings Known on Serena Williams’ Form Amid Tennis Comeback Speculation
Williams turned professional in 1995 and won a total of 39 Grand Slam titles throughout her career, including 23 singles Grand Slam titles: seven each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, six at the US Open, and three at the French Open.
In addition to her singles Major success, Williams has also claimed 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles alongside her sister, Venus Williams, and two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles with Max Mirnyi. She was ranked No. 1 in both singles and doubles in the WTA rankings and secured four Olympic medals: one in singles and three in doubles for the United States, among other accolades.
The former World No. 1 retired from professional tennis in 2022, with her last tournament being the US Open, where she reached the third round before losing to Ajla Tomljanović. Recently, while speaking to Tennis Major, Parks shared that she practiced with Williams, whom she described as a “great mentor.”
Parks stated that Williams helped her significantly with her game and expressed that the former World No. 1 is in “great shape” and would “kill it” if she makes a return to the tour.
“I actually practiced with her last Monday. And I messaged her yesterday. She’s definitely a good mentor to me and she’s helped me a lot, especially in my practices. She is in great shape. So I think she would kill it on tour,” Parks said.
Meanwhile, Parks is currently in Doha for the 2026 Qatar Open. She secured her place in the main draw by defeating Rebeka Masarova and Solana Sierra in the qualifying rounds. In the first round of the main draw, she will face 15th seed Diana Shnaider.
Parks and Shnaider have faced each other four times on the WTA Tour, with the Russian winning three of those encounters. Their most recent match-up was in the semifinals of the 2025 Monterrey Open, which Shnaider won with a scoreline of 6-3, 7-6(8). She then went on to triumph over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final, securing her fifth WTA Tour singles title overall.
The winner of the first-round match between Parks and Shnaider at the 2026 Qatar Open will advance to face either Zheng Qinwen or Sofia Kenin in the second round of the tournament.