Serena Williams non-committal over Australian Open

Abu Dhabi, December 31: Serena Williams has cast doubt on her participation at the Australian Open, despite returning to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

Former world number one Williams was beaten 6-2 3-6 10-5 by Jelena Ostapenko in the exhibition competition on Saturday (December 30) - her first match since winning the title at Melbourne Park while pregnant with her first child.

Serena's return has been hotly anticipated, with the top ranking on the WTA Tour passed around during her hiatus.

Australian Open tournament director Craig Tilley revealed earlier this month that Serena was "very likely" to play in Melbourne, but the 36-year-old says she will take things slowly before confirming her participation in the season's first grand slam.

"I don't know if I'm totally ready yet or not," Serena told a news conference in Abu Dhabi.

A spectacular match between the first two women to play at #MWTC! Jelena Ostapenko wins 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 over @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/TFGoitC09G

— MWTC (@MubadalaTennis) December 30, 2017

"When I come back [on the tour] I definitely want to be competing for championships. Someone asked me the other day when I started [training] and I couldn't remember and I still can't remember, but I guess it's kind of all a blur when you have the baby, you're training and then you're back to the baby.

"It's been a while. I definitely look forward to getting back out there.

"I'll go and just assess what I want to do and figure that out. I'm taking it one day at a time I'm going to asses everything with Patrick and my team and go from there."

Though she is uncertain of her place at Melbourne Park, Serena flashed a warning to her rivals on the WTA Tour: "I've won 23 grand slam singles titles and I don't know how many other titles. I don't have anything to prove. I just want to go out there and play. I'm not done yet."

Source: OPTA