Tournament director claims Serena Williams has 'entered' the 2018 Australian Open

Tournament director Craig Tiley has revealed that Serena Williams has 'entered' the 2018 Australian Open as the American looks set to return to tennis action.

Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam at the 2017 Australian Open earlier this year when she defeated her sister Venus in the final.

Following her win at Melbourne Park, the American suffered a knee injury which saw her withdraw from Indian Wells before she eventually took time off from tennis after revealing that she was 20 weeks pregnant in April.

Having given birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in September, Williams later revealed her intention to defend her title in Australia.

However, there was no official confirmation on whether she would return, with Tiley claiming "Serena will be back" in October while Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently said that nothing is certain as of now.

However, Tiley said on Wednesday (6 December) that Williams has received her visa and has entered the first Grand Slam of the year.

"She has got her visa, she has entered [the tournament], she is practicing and she probably just needs a bit more space for a bigger entourage," Tiley said, as per WAToday.com.au.

"We've had this before. Roger Federer travels with his four kids and we are a family-friendly event as is basketball."

There are doubts on whether Williams will be ready to return after what will be a year's hiatus. However, Tiley is confident and believes she will be itching to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams, the most that any player has won in tennis history in the Open era.

"There is no question she will be ready in our view and she wants to break the record owned by Margaret Court and it would be a significant accomplishment," he added.