Linz:
Serena Williams will return to the WTA circuit at next week's Generali Ladies Linz after being sidelined by a cut on her foot since July.
Organizers said the Wimbledon and Australian Open champion officially confirmed her entry on Thursday, the same day Williams lost her No. 1 ranking.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki will take over the top ranking when the rankings are released on Monday.
Williams underwent surgery after cutting her right foot on broken glass at a restaurant after winning Wimbledon.
She returned to practice in September but twice put off her comeback, withdrawing from the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and this week's China Open in Beijing.
Linz will be only the seventh tournament of the year for Williams, but she has already done enough to qualify for the end-of-season championships in Doha.
The 29-year-old has also said she will be available for the U.S. Fed Cup team when it faces Italy in the Nov. 6-7 final in San Diego.
Serena's sister Venus said Tuesday she would not play again this season because of a left knee injury that has sidelined her for most of the second half of 2010.
The younger Williams sister has played in Linz once before _ in 2004, when she fell in the second round to Russia's Alina Jidkova.
Former champion Daniela Hantuchova at No. 26 is the second-highest ranked player at the $220,000 tournament. U.S. Open quarter finalist Dominika Cibulkova and last year's runner-up Petra Kvitova are also taking part.