Venus Williams returns to the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Monday night in Memphis with a renewed enthusiam for the game and a new racquet. Williams will make her tournament debut with a Wilson K Factor, which she describes as 'simililar to Serena's,' in her feature night match against Japan's Akiko Morigami.

Williams, who has not played a tournament since Luxembourg in early October, 2006, says that sister Serena's recent Australian Open triumph has made her eager to return to the WTA Tour. "I want to be like Serena. I lived for every moment (of her Australian Open triumph)," Williams said.

"I'm excited to be back in the swing of things. Playing a tournament is always different to practice... there are different stresses on the body, there's adrenaline and the extra efforts. It's definitely a big test (after an extended break) but I've got a lot of experience to call on and I'm confident I can do well here in Memphis this week."

Williams is looking to atone for a disappointing and injury-marred 2006 when she played just six tournaments and finished outside the Top 15 for the first time in nine years after failing to win a title. She battled right elbow and right and left wrist injuries.

The winner of 33 WTA titles and former World No. 1 comes into the tournament ranked a lowly No 53.

About Our Title Sponsor
Regions and Morgan Keegan are proud to serve as title sponsor for the third year of this prestigious event that brings world-class tennis to Memphis -- also home to Morgan Keegan's headquarters and more than 2,500 Regions associates. A longtime supporter of the tournament, Morgan Keegan & Company is the securities brokerage and asset management subsidiary of Birmingham, Ala-based Regions Financial Corporation, one of the nation's top 10 financial services providers. Regions operates 2,000 bank branches, a 2,800-ATM network, and 325 Morgan Keegan offices in 16 states throughout the South, Midwest and Texas.

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