Serena Williams is expected to return to the court at the Australian Open, according to tournament director Craig Tiley.

The 36-year-old has not played since winning last year’s tournament in Melbourne – when she was pregnant with her first child.

She gave birth to a girl in September and has taken to the practice courts in preparation for a return in 2018.

And, that will come at Melbourne Park after Tiley revealed the 23-time Grand Slam champion has entered the tournament with the target of eventually surpassing Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

He told the Herald Sun: “She’s got her visa, she’s entered, she’s practising and she’s probably just got to find a bit more space for a bigger entourage.

“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.”

Despite giving birth to her first child just a few months ago, the American has been eager to get back onto the court, and has been doing as much practising as possible, so that she's ready to make her return at the beginning of 2018.

She even posted some videos on her social media accounts of her playing tennis whilst being heavily pregnant, which just goes to show how dedicated she is to the sport.

Not to mention how strong and fit she is as an athlete.

If Williams does win the 2018 Australian Open, it will be her eighth win Down Under, and her third in four years.

She lost the 2016 final to Angelique Kerber, but either side of that she managed to defeat both Maria Sharapova, and her sister Venus Williams.

All eyes could be on Serena come January and whether she can win yet another Grand Slam. We certainly wouldn't put it past her.