Venus Williams opens door to Serena return after sisters link up again on court

Venus Williams has opened the door for a competitive return alongside sister Serena after a picture was posted of them training together.

The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together as formidable partners with their final victory coming at Wimbledon in 2016. Venus, aged 42, is individually ranked outside the top 1,000 in the world and lost in the US Open first round in the singles competition.

She partnered Serena, for what could be the final time, in the doubles with the pair suffering a second round defeat as her sister bid farewell in emotional scenes.

Venus has now been quizzed online by fans, who asked about her 'ideal mixed doubles partner'. In reply, Venus posted a picture of her sister Serena, with the caption: "I only play doubles with this one. So unless she’s coming back..."

Despite saying farewell at the US Open, Serena who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, suggested last month that her chances of her returning to the game are ‘very high’.

“I am not retired,” Williams said at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. “The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court. I didn’t even think about the whole retirement. I still haven’t really thought about it."

Do you think Serena Williams will make a competitive tennis return alongside sister Venus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section

Fans are hoping that Serena and Venus Williams will make a competitive doubles return (Getty Images)

There is added excitement at the prospect of the Williams sisters returning to competitive action after retired Polish player Urszula Radwanska posted a picture of her training with both Venus and Serena.

However, fans might have to wait for a Williams return as Serena is listed by the anti-doping International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) as being retired on September 3.

One fan commented: "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but she declared herself retired to ITIA, so she is no longer under the anti-doping program. She'd have to make herself available for anti-doping testing six months before being allowed to play, so she's ineligible for AO (Australian Open)."