Santa Monica (California), Nov 04: Serena and Venus Williams plan to return to playing tennis in January, six months after each of them was sidelined with injuries.

They each plan to play in the Australian Open, beginning on January 19. Serena is the defending champion, having beaten Venus for the title.
Serena had left knee surgery on august 1, and she said last night that her knee is "doing really good".
Serena said her first event in 2004 will be the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, a mixed team event that begins on January 03. She and James Blake won last year's title for the United States.
Serena had a 38-3 match record and won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year. She was a semifinalist at the French Open, then skipped the U S Open after having surgery.
Venus also has resumed hitting in preparation for playing an unspecified warm-up event before the Australian Open.
Neither sister has played since Wimbledon, where Venus lost to Serena in the final. Venus has been sidelined with a strained abdominal muscle that first bothered her in April.
Bureau Report