And tournament director Geoff Quinlan has welcomed the addition of Nick Kyrgios despite the Australian's latest controversial episode during a tournament in Shanghai, where he walked off the court after losing the first set to American Steve Johnson.

Williams became a mother for the first time in September, when she welcomed baby Alexis Olympia. It would be remarkable to see the 36-year-old back on the court just a few months later, but only the brave would doubt the 23-time grand slam winner.

Should she return to the Australian Open, it would likely be off the back of a lead-in tournament. Auckland, where Williams played last year, and the WTA event in Shenzhen are other options, but Brisbane has been a happy hunting ground in the past.

Williams won the tournament in 2013 and 2014, and the timing would work if she wanted a gently-gently path to Melbourne. It gives players a week's break before the Australian Open, while the Sydney International at Homebush, where sister Venus will play, finishes just two days before the open starts.

Quinlan said he had already made contact with Williams' management and they would welcome her with open arms at an event already featuring Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and defending champions Grigor Dimitrov and Karolina Pliskova.

"We would love to have her [Williams]," Quinlan said. "Yesterday [Monday], Serena was confirmed as coming to the Australian Open. We'd love to have her here and the door is wide open.

"Yes, there has [been contact]. We'll see how she goes. She's just become a mum. She knows she's welcome. But it would be amazing, there's no denying that."

Kyrgios was another player confirmed to be in Brisbane, but the timing wasn't ideal. He faces an ATP investigation for his behaviour at the Shanghai Masters, where he quit after losing the first-set tie-breaker 7-5.

Later, he used social media to say he was injured and sick. But he didn't seek any treatment during the match and was heard on court saying he would quit if he lost the tie-breaker, which was an apparent protest to chair umpire Fergus Murphy.

It was the same tournament where he was banned last year for showing a lack of effort during a second-round loss to Mischa Zverev.

A further ban could put his Australian summer in doubt, but Quinlan backed Kyrgios to be available for Brisbane and to fire.

"With respect to last [Tuesday] night, it's too early to comment," Quinlan said. "I don't have much more news than you have. [But] we are thrilled for Nick to be joining us.

"He's one of the most talented players on tour and played well here with the Davis Cup team [in April].

"He spoke about how much he enjoyed his time here, how he liked the intimacy of the arena, how comfortable he is in Brisbane and just rudimentary things like the pace of the court," Quinlan said.

Quinlan also confirmed local talent Ash Barty, who has a career-high ranking of 23, would contest the 2018 tournament.