Serena primed to return

Serena Williams will be "ready to go" when she returns to action this week in the United States' Fed Cup first-round tie against the Netherlands, captain Kathy Rinaldi said on Wednesday.

Williams has not played a WTA tournament since she won the 2017 Australian Open and skipped this year's opening Grand Slam due to concerns about her fitness four months after giving birth to her first child.

Rinaldi said she expects Williams, who was named to the US squad that will compete on an indoor hard court in Asheville, North Carolina, to make a smooth transition in her return to competitive tennis.