When Simone Biles made her Olympic return in Paris 2024 after the twisties, Serena Williams was among those cheering her on from the stands at Bercy Arena. At the time, Biles had little chance to return the gesture, as Williams had stepped away from tennis in 2022. But four years later, the 23x Grand Slam champion is back at the age of 44. For Biles, it seems like the opportunity to return the favor and perhaps experience something she never had the opportunity to do before.

On June 30, Laureus Sport shared a video on Instagram featuring Biles’ reaction to Williams’ return. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist revealed:

“I feel like it’s everyone’s dream come true to see Serena compete again. I never got the opportunity besides on the TV, so hopefully now in person I’ll get to go see her since she’s competing again.”

Williams’ last match before her comeback came on September 2, 2022, when she lost to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round of the US Open. At that time, Biles was not in attendance, but she did pay tribute to Serena after she announced she was stepping away. Biles thanked her for “transcending sports.”

Now, with Williams set to compete at Wimbledon after accepting a wildcard, Biles finally has a chance to witness her. The American gymnast also spoke about Williams’ influence far beyond tennis.

“But she’s an incredible human on and off the court, in sports, in business. She’s a woman that truly does it all and gives us the power to believe that even when you think you’re done, you might have a little bit left in you.”

The admiration between the two legends has never been one-sided. Following Biles’ withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics because of the twisties, Williams wrote a tribute to the gymnast for the TIME 100 list, saying, “I wish I had her to look up to when I was younger and trying to realize my dreams.”

And now, years later, Williams is following that same theory for her comeback: “I don’t need to win. I’ve won ⁠more than most people have in their whole lives. It’s ​important that I keep reminding myself of that because I don’t have anything to ​prove. I don’t have anything to lose.”

Interestingly, these lines inspire Biles too:

“And she even said like, ‘I have nothing to lose, I have everything to gain at this point,’ which is really, really cool. And someone of her stature to say it gives us the power to believe. I’m rooting for her, obviously.”

If one of the greatest athletes of all time can come back with nothing to lose and everything to gain, could Simone Biles one day do the same at 29?

Could Simone Biles follow Serena Williams’ path?

Simone Biles has not returned to the gym since winning 3 gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and has hardly watched any gymnastics events. But even after taking a long break, Biles has not retired, leaving the door open for another Olympic comeback. But at the same time, Paris showed her how much her body had endured.

The 11-time Olympic medalist recalled struggling to walk back to the Paris Olympic Village and even needing to use an elevator because climbing stairs had become a challenge at that time. That reality has left her LA 2028 plans very much up in the air. She is 29 now but will be 31 during LA 2028.

Earlier this year, Biles acknowledged that she remains undecided about pursuing another Olympic cycle.

“I feel like we’re still at a 50-50… Now it’s almost half of 2026, so we’re gonna have to make these decisions pretty quickly,” she said.

Even so, those around her have not completely ruled out another return. Former coach Laurent Landi has continued to express optimism, reportedly encouraging Biles to keep the possibility alive by telling her, “Give me two years.”

If Biles decides to resume training later in 2026, there would still be enough time to build toward the Los Angeles Olympics. But the window is gradually narrowing. For now, retirement remains off the table, but so does a commitment to LA28!