Serena Williams confirms she will make comeback next week four months after giving birth to her daughter

Williams has not played competitively since winning the Australia Open in January while pregnant with her first child

Serena Williams will return to tennis fewer than four months since having her daughter Alexis Olympia (Getty)

Serena Williams has confirmed that her long-awaited return to tennis will take place in Abu Dhabi next week as the 23-time grand slam champion prepares for her Australian Open title defence in Melbourne next month.

The 36-year-old American has not played competitively since winning the tournament in January this year while pregnant with her first child, daughter Alexis Olympia, slipping to 22nd in the WTA world rankings.

Williams gave birth to her daughter at the start of September before marrying long-term partner Alexis Ohanian in November, with her return coming fewer than four months since having the couple’s first child.

"I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September," said in a statement on Sunday.

"The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men's global tennis season and I am excited and honoured to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event.

"I look forward to seeing the fans in Abu Dhabi at the 10th Edition of the Championship very soon."

But after announcing a planned comeback to defend her Australia crown, Williams will take part in an exhibition match on Saturday 30 December at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi as part of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship against reigning French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The tournament is due to get underway on 28 December, with Williams featuring on the final day’s action against 20-year-old Latvian Ostapenko. It will be the first time in 10 years that a women’s tennis match has taken place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships, and will come as a major boost for fans in the region following last week’s high-profile withdrawals of Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka and Milos Raonic.

Williams won the Australia Open last season while pregnant (Getty)

The trio have been replaced by Roberto Bautista-Agut, Kevin Anderson and Andrey Rublev, and they join former world No 1 and 12-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic, as well as Pablo Carreno Busta and Dominic Thiem.

The draw for the Australian Open will take place on Thursday 11 January, where Williams will discover her potential path to a record 24th grand slam title and eighth Australian Open if she can defy expectations and complete an astonishingly quick return from pregnancy.