Serena Williams is back in the game.
After nearly three years of not competing professionally, the tennis legend will make her return in the doubles event at the HSBC Championships at the Queen's Club in London. Williams teased the news on X on Monday morning, with Nike confirming her return soon after. The tournament runs from June 8 to June 14.
While the 23-time major title winner is the most recent prominent name to return to their sport after a sizable break, she isn't the first. Some legendary figures have made their own comebacks over the years, with some enjoying impressive career second winds as well. Here are some of the other notable names Williams is joining.
Michael Jordan
Likely the most famous return to a sport of all time, the simple tagline for Jordan's 1995 comeback -- "I'm back" -- is still referenced today. The Chicago Bulls superstar had been on a yearlong sojourn in baseball after having announced his retirement in October 1993, but he rejoined the Bulls in the second half of the 1994-95 season.
It didn't take long for Jordan's impact to be felt. In his first full season back, the Bulls returned to and won the NBA Finals, and Chicago would follow that up with two more consecutive titles in the following years for the second three-peat of Jordan's career.
Jordan then retired again, from which he'd make another comeback three years later, playing two seasons with the Washington Wizards before his last and official retirement in 2003.
Mario Lemieux
One of the inspirations for Jordan's second comeback was the return of his friend Lemieux several months earlier.
Lemieux announced his retirement in 1997 with eight All-Star nods and 1,494 career points under his belt, his production coming even with his 12-season career having been interrupted by a diagnosis of and subsequent battle with Hodgkin lymphoma in 1993.
But Lemieux's time away from the ice was temporary. In one of the more remarkable comebacks in sports history, he made his return to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December 2000 and proceeded to add another 229 points to his career tally over an additional six years in the league.
Martina Hingis
Hingis' accomplished career never followed a conventional pathway. As ESPN put it on the day of her final retirement in 2017: "The careers of most players are roughly bell shaped. Hingis' looks like a page torn from a seismograph during a day of unusual volcanic activity."
The description was well-earned. Hingis rose quickly early on in her career, becoming a teenage Grand Slam champion in both singles and doubles competition. She earned the No. 1 world ranking in a brilliant 1997 that saw her win at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. But in 2003, at just 22 years old, Hingis announced her retirement, hampered by injuries.
She came back in 2005, before leaving the game again in 2007 amid a suspension ... and then returning again in 2013, when she put together an accomplished doubles run for a successful late career arc before retiring (for good) in 2017.
Simone Biles
A chaotic time at 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan saw Biles remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health. It preceded a longer break from competition for the gymnast, who eventually made a comeback in 2023 ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.
Biles indeed shined in Paris in her return to the Olympic spotlight, leaving France with three gold medals and a silver.
Michael Phelps
Phelps took home an impressive haul from the 2012 London Olympics -- four gold medals and two silvers -- adding to an already stuffed medal cabinet. He then proceeded to announce his retirement ... but in 2014, he dove back in.
Unsurprisingly, the legendary swimmer was in top gear by the time the 2016 Rio Games rolled around, his fifth Olympics. Phelps added five gold medals and one silver to his ledger in Brazil, capping off his career by helping the United States 4x100-meter medley relay set an Olympic record for his 23rd and final gold -- also an Olympic record.
Lindsey Vonn
Vonn already boasted an impressive Olympic résumé when she opted to come out of retirement at age 40 in 2024 to push for one more Games. She was a three-time medalist and had competed in four editions, but a litany of injuries and extended time away from competition didn't slow her down. She was named to Team USA's roster for the 2026 Olympics in Italy.
And while Vonn's Games ended in heartbreak when she suffered a frightening injury after a crash in the women's downhill event, her comeback story might not be done yet -- in early May she was nominated to the U.S. Alpine ski team for the upcoming season.
George Foreman
There was quite a gap between Foreman's stints as a boxer -- he first stepped away from the ring at age 28, before returning a decade later ... and remaining in form.
Seven years into his second career act, Foreman would eventually become the oldest man to hold the title of heavyweight champion of the world. He was 45 years and 299 days old when he knocked out Michael Moorer to accomplish the feat.
Foreman's illustrious career didn't finally conclude until he was 48 years old.
Dara Torres
Another multi-comeback master, Torres' five Olympic appearances didn't come simply.
Her first three Games were straightforward -- her debut in 1984, followed by successive qualifications for 1988 and 1992. Then came a seven-year hiatus, from which Torres returned to compete at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where she won five swimming medals.
Another break then followed. But after another impressive comeback, Torres, 41 at the time, collected three more medals at the 2008 Beijing Games -- and afterward nearly qualified for the 2012 Games as well.
Ryne Sandberg
Sandberg minced no words when he announced his retirement midway through the 1994 season: "I am certainly not the type [of] person who can ask the Cubs organization and Chicago Cubs fans to pay my salary when I am not happy with my mental approach and my performance."
But Sandberg's retirement wasn't the end of his story at Wrigley Field. He returned to the Chicago roster after a year-and-a-half hiatus ahead of the 1996 season. The time off seemed to do the Cubs legend good -- the 25 home runs he hit in his return to the diamond were his most since 1992, and his 92 RBIs were his most since 1991.
Sandberg would retire for good at the conclusion of the 1997 season.