Serena Williams Trains with Parks, Fuels Return Speculation

Serena Williams, the 44-year-old tennis legend and 23-time Grand Slam champion, has been actively training on the court, according to her practice partner Alycia Parks, reigniting speculation about a potential return to professional competition. The sessions, which take place three times a week when Parks is stateside, come as Williams remains eligible to rejoin the WTA Tour following her recent reinstatement in the International Tennis Integrity Agency's drug-testing pool.

Parks, a 25-year-old American ranked No. 105 on the WTA Tour, shared details of their collaboration after defeating Sinja Kraus in the first round of the Miami Open on Thursday. She initiated the partnership with a text message to Williams while competing in the Middle East earlier this year. "Hey, can you practice when I come back to the States?" Parks recalled asking, to which Williams replied, "Yeah, let's go." The two have since held multiple sessions focused on groundstrokes and games, with Parks describing Williams's current form in glowing terms. "She's hitting good," Parks told the Tennis Channel. "Yeah, she's definitely fit. She looks great and she's hitting the ball amazing."