Serena Williams has shut down rumours about making a tennis comeback after she registered with the sport's drug-testing body, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is considered to be one of the greats of the game and has not competed since bidding farewell at the 2022 US Open.
The 44-year-old said at the time she did not want to use the word "retiring" and instead said she was "evolving" away from tennis.
However, in a social media post on Tuesday, Williams wrote: "Omg yall I'm NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy."
Athletes who decide to return to testing need to provide information about their time and locations when they are available to give samples.
They also need to complete testing for six months before they are allowed to return to competition.
Williams' older sister, Venus, returned to tennis in July at the age of 45 after almost two years away from the tour, and she also never announced her retirement.
At the US Open, Venus became the oldest player to play singles at a Grand Slam tournament since 1981.
Venus, a seven-time major singles champion, has spoken previously about wanting Serena to join her back on tour. They claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a pair.
Williams, who played her first professional tennis match back in 1995, admitted the major motivation behind initially calling it quits three years ago was her desire to have a second child.
She gave birth to Adira River Ohanian in August 2023, her second daughter having welcomed her first child Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr almost six years earlier with husband Alexis Ohanian.
Williams was in the early stages of pregnancy with Olympia when she won the 2017 Australian Open to move just one grand slam singles title behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court.
She reached four more finals on her return from maternity leave, two at Wimbledon and two at the US Open, but was beaten in straight sets on each occasion.
Williams, who won her first major title in 1999 at the US Open as a 17-year-old, told Vogue in 2022 when she revealed plans to walk away from tennis: "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want (Court's) record.
"The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams. I had my chances after coming back from giving birth.
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn't show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that's fine. Actually it's extraordinary."
Williams recently spoke out about how conversations around Black women in sport have "changed".
Featuring in the latest cover story for Net-A-Porter's digital title Porter, the 44-year-old, who won 23 Grand Slam titles over a 27-year professional career, opened up to the magazine about the resilience she built as a Black woman in sport.
Williams said: "Growing up and being Black in tennis, it's just like, well, that comes with negativity. I don't hear the noise. Everyone is entitled to their opinion."
Breaking into the predominantly white game was no easy feat for the tennis star, who faced criticism and racial bias over the course of her career.
Many now credit the player for her influence and role in transforming the game, and she said that conversations around Black women in sport have "changed".
She said: "No one's calling these girls the (things) I was called. People would say we were like men and all this other stuff.
"But I'm so happy that girls nowadays don't have to go through it as much."
Statistically, the greatest tennis player of her era, Williams played 1,011 matches on the WTA Tour and faced opponents born in every year from 1966 to 2003 over the course of her long career.
She said: "No matter how prepared you are to retire, and particularly from doing something every day at such a high level, it's hard. I really prepped myself the best way I could but it's still something that's a little difficult.
"I want to bring in more clarity, confidence that I made the right decisions and that you don't always have to live only for your children. I'm discovering me again."
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