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Serena Williams insisted she had no plans to make a return to tennis after her registration with the sport’s drug-testing body sparked reports of a dramatic comeback. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion has not competed since a third-round loss at the 2022 US Open left her one short of the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, held by Margaret Court in the women’s game and Novak Djokovic in men’s tennis. “It is correct that she is back on the Registered Testing Pool list,” Adrian Bassett, a spokesman for the the International Tennis Integrity Agency, the sport’s drug-testing body told AFP in London on Tuesday in response to media reports the 44-year-old American had registered. “At this stage we have no other information.” But Williams denied she was planning a return to competitive tennis by posting later Tuesday on X: “Omg (Oh My God) yall (you all) I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy”.Following her three-set defeat by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic at Flushing Meadows three years ago, Williams said she did not want to use the word “retiring” but instead explained she was “evolving” away from tennis. Players 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’s older sister, Venus, - seven times major singles champion - returned to tennis in July at the age of 45 after almost two years away from the Women’s Tennis Association tour.When Venus, a seven-time major singles champion, came back at the DC Open, she spoke about wishing Serena would join her on tour again. The sisters won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a pair and three Olympic gold medals as well. “I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here,” said Venus at the time. “Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her.“But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know.” 

Stuart Williams Shortly after French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu resigned after less than a month in the job, President Emmanuel Macron was filmed walking by the River Seine in Paris deep in phone conversation with only his security detail at a discreet distance.Whom Macron was speaking to and what he was discussing remains unclear. But the image symbolised the political solitude of the president as he faces a dwindling array of options, all of them hazardous.What will Macron, who must step down as president in 2027 after serving the maximum two mandates, do next?Here are four options evoked by analysts. None offer a quick solution.Reappoint Lecornu Macron appears to have given himself this option after Bruno Le Maire, a loyal former finance minister whose appointment as defence minister triggered the crisis, said he would withdraw from the government.The Elysee then announced Lecornu was being given two days to put together an action plan, with the premier saying he would hold "final discussions" with "all the political forces".But it is far from clear that Lecornu would be able to appoint a government, let alone survive a confidence vote in parliament where his forces are in the minority.Even were his mission to succeed, his reappointment as premier would not be automatic, said a French presidential official."The fundamentals of the problem remain the same: with or without Le Maire, they (the other parliamentary blocs) don't agree on the budget, pension reform, immigration and so forth," said Paul Taylor, senior visiting fellow at the European Policy Centre.A new PM If Macron appointed a new prime minister, the person would be the eighth premier of his rule and the third this year alone — not good for France's reputation.The left wants him to appoint a person who would push through a more expansive budget. But it is far from clear Macron would do this and even if he did, the new premier might not even enjoy support from throughout the fractious left."Another PM could be toppled within weeks — making a new legislative election almost inevitable," said the Eurasia Group risk analysis firm.Early elections Macron has always resisted calling early elections, after his gamble to call snap polls in summer 2024 backfired and left France with a hung parliament.But the president will "assume his responsibilities" if Lecornu fails over the next two days, a presidential official said, in apparent reference to calling early elections.Such elections could lead to the far-right National Rally (RN) of Marine Le Pen bolstering its presence in parliament and even giving her protege Jordan Bardella the chance of becoming premier.The outcome of such polls is far from clear, though Le Pen has described such elections as "absolutely essential"."It is uncertain whether new elections will produce a different result than the one from last July," said Celia Belin, head of the Paris office of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).ResignMacron has always rejected resigning before his mandate ends, which would trigger early presidential elections. But pressure is building on the president like never before."If new snap elections do not allow for a governing majority, the political crisis could turn into a regime crisis. In this case, President Macron's ability to stay in power could be questioned," said Belin.