Serena 'very likely' to come back at Australian Open

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Serena Williams will be ready to make her tennis comeback at the Australian Open with her return to Melbourne for the season's opening Grand Slam "very likely," organizers said Wednesday.

Williams, 36, won this year's Australian Open while pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl in September. She has not played a competition since, raising questions over whether the 23-time Grand Slam winner would attempt to defend her title next month.

But tournament director Craig Tiley is optimistic she will return for a crack at her seventh Melbourne Park crown after marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian last month.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian attend the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the Rei Kawakubo, May 1, 2017. /AP Photo

"She's got her visa, she's entered, she's practicing and she's probably just got to find a bit more space for a bigger entourage," Melbourne's Herald Sun quoted him as saying.

"There's no question that she'll be ready in our view and she wants to break a record that is Margaret Court's. It would be a pretty significant accomplishment for her to be able to do that."

Australian Court has 24 major titles, making her the most successful player in Grand Slam history.

Serena Williams holds her trophy after defeating her sister Venus during the women’s final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, January 28, 2017. /AP Photo

Tiley described the Australian Open, which will be held from January 15-28, as a "family-friendly event."

"We've had this before. Roger Federer travels with his four kids and we are a family-friendly event," he said, referring to Williams and her baby.

Source(s): AFP