Serena Williams will return to court at Italian Open

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Serena Williams has received a wild-card entry for next month’s Italian Open, which now looks to be her first tennis action since winning the Australian Open in January.

The top-ranked women’s tennis player initially did not enter the tournament in Rome, which begins May 3, but later asked for the wild-card entry, indicating she may have finally recovered from the knee injury that has kept her out of numerous events, including this week’s Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C.

Williams won her only Italian Open title in 2002. The tournament is considered to be a key clay-court warm-up for the French Open.

With the announcement of Williams’ wild-card entry Tuesday, Italian Open organizers noted that the nine of the top 10 female tennis players have entered the tournament.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.