U.S. tennis star Serena Williams is set to return to the courts after nearly a year on the sidelines because of injuries and health issues.

Williams says she will play in next week's Eastbourne grass-court tournament, one of the warm-up events for Wimbledon, which begins June 20. That will set the stage for the 29-year-old to defend her Wimbledon title.

Shortly after she captured last year's championship she cut her foot on glass at a restaurant in Germany. The former number one had the second of two surgeries for it in October.

Then in February, Serena had emergency treatment for a blood clot in her lungs.

In a statement Tuesday, the four-time Wimbledon champion said she is “so excited to be healthy enough to compete again.''

Williams' older sister Venus also is returning to action after an extended injury to play at Eastbourne. The tournament will have a strong field, which includes newly-crowned French Open champion Li Na of China.

When healthy, the Williams sisters have dominated women's tennis for much of the past decade. In addition to their 20 total major singles titles, both have spent time at No. 1 in the WTA world rankings.

At Wimbledon, the sisters have combined to win nine of the past 11 women's singles championships.