Victoria Azarenka appears to have scheduled a return, announcing that she plans to play the WTA event at Auckland at the beginning of the season.

The Belarusian gave birth to her first child—a son, Leo—in 2016 and began her comeback on grass. But she has been kept from playing tournaments because of a custody dispute, specifically a court order that does not allow her to travel with her son until it is settled.

It prevented her from playing for Belarus two weeks ago in the final of Fed Cup.

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But her decision to enter Auckland indicates she is now anticipating a return to competition.

"I've worked extremely hard with my team...with my goal to get back to world number one and compete for Grand Slam titles," she said in a statement. (http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=259694)

Azarenka is eligible for a protected ranking as she returns to tour.