Williams - who has won 23 Grand Slam titles, one behind the record held by Australian Margaret Court - is among the first set of players to be confirmed for the event.

Others include fellow US Open winner Sloane Stephens.

Presented by Bluegrass Otheropaedics, the Top Seed Open, an international-level event, is due to begin on August 10 and conclude on August 17.

It comes after WTA chief executive Steve Simon confirmed last week the addition of the Lexington event in the United States, as well as the Prague Open in the Czech Republic to the calendar.

It is expected the provisional WTA calendar will resume the week of August 3 at the 31° Palermo Ladies' Open in Italy.

Williams will compete in her first match since she helped the US defeat Latvia in the Fed Cup in Everett in Washington in February.

There she beat Jelena Ostapenko and lost to Anastasija Sevastova.

Now looking to equal Court's record, Williams has confirmed her intention to compete at the US Open in August, despite the threat of COVID-19.

Stephens last competed on the Tour in a second-round defeat to Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez at the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey in Mexico in March, just a few days before professional tennis was forced into a hiatus because of the pandemic.

She took part in a non-WTA exhibition event in June in Charleston in the US with 15 other WTA players including Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin and Victoria Azarenka.