Serena Williams has entered the Australian Open in January.
Serena Williams Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The 36-year-old won this year's event in Melbourne while in the early weeks of pregnancy and gave birth to a daughter in September.
Tournament director Craig Tiley told the Herald Sun the 23-time Grand Slam winner is "very likely" to return to tennis in Melbourne.
"She's got her visa, she's entered, she's practising," he said. "There's no question she'll be ready in our view."
Williams, who has won the Australian Open seven times, has posted on social media that she has returned to training.
Australia's Margaret Court, with 24, is the only player still ahead of Serena in terms of Grand Slam singles titles.
"She wants to break a record that is Margaret Court's," added Tiley. "It would be a pretty significant accomplishment for her to be able to do that."
Meanwhile Evonne Goolagong Cawley believes Williams will join her in one of the sport's most exclusive clubs with a momentous Australian Open triumph as a doting mother.
Goolagong Cawley, fellow Australian all-time great Margaret Court and Belgian Kim Clijsters are the only three mothers in half a century of professional tennis to have won grand slam singles titles.
But Williams is less than seven weeks away from becoming the fourth, according to Goolagong Cawley.
"I think she will," the former world No.1 told AAP.
"I hope so because she's got so much talent and so much in her to win more tournaments.
"I know that from my own experience, after I had my daughter Kelly, I felt great. I just wanted to get back on that court.
"I'm sure she's feeling the same way."
-bbc/aap
