Tennis superstar Serena Williams is eyeing the 2016 Rio Olympics as her comeback to active competition. Due to various injuries and illness, she has only participated in one tournament since September. Williams suffered a shock defeat against Germany's Angelique Kerber in the final.

"Tennis players never really thought about winning the Olympics, you grew up thinking about winning grand slams but now, with tennis in the Olympics, of course you think about it," Williams said. The world's number one ranked player pointed out that the summer Olympic games have a big impact on athletes because it affects their schedule.

Williams is already a four-time Olympic gold medalist, winning one as a singles competitor. She expressed that she's looking forward to Rio and will be focusing on it more than the other tournaments come August.

Zika Fears at Rio Olympics 2016

However, there is growing fear among athletes, especially women who are planning to have a baby in the near future. Brazil's Zika virus outbreak has been linked to microcephaly, a rare birth defect wherein a newborn's brain fails to develop properly, resulting to an unusually small head.

Williams is one of those who are concerned about the current outbreak, saying that she's reading more about the disease. "I definitely think it's something you want to be careful about, and we'll see what happens," she said.

The 34-year-old tennis superstar joins USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo, who has expressed concern regarding the mosquito-borne viral disease. Rio officials have assured that the Olympics will be safe from the Zika virus.

Nevertheless, Rio organizing committee spokesman Mario Andrada revealed that only about 47 percent of the tickets have been sold. It's a very alarming sales number for the organizers, with the Olympics just five months away.

Serena Wiliams' Schedule

The 21-time Grand Slam champion will be returning to the tennis court Tuesday next week in an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden. She will be facing her good friend and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the BNP Paribas Showdown.

"I'll be ready to go today. I'll be ready to go tomorrow. And I'll definitely be ready to go Tuesday. I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to see how I'm feeling physically. I've been doing pretty good," Williams said.