Serena Williams [ Images ] will make her return to competitive tennis following a lengthy injury layoff in Cincinnati next week, saying she "hopes to blow the joint up", and return to the top of the world rankings.

Sidelined with a chronic left knee injury, Williams has seen her ranking slip to 140 but the ex-world number one is confident she can again become a dominating force on the WTA Tour.

"I definitely think so, if I didn't I wouldn't be trying to play," Williams said during a tele-conference on Thursday. "There is definitely some potential there.

"I hope to get a lot of satisfaction out of my game. I hope to go out there and blow the joint up."

Williams, however, was making no predictions for her comeback next week at the low-key $175,000 Tier III hard court event in Cincinnati.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner has played just three matches this year, posting a record of 2-1, and has not seen any action since a third-round loss to Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova [ Images ] at the Australian Open [ Images ] in January.

"I am really excited to just get out there and do my thing," said Williams. "I hope I'm in good shape.

"My goals, I've always never said them out loud. I just expect to do what I do best and I think I play tennis best. And it's what I like to do best as well."

Williams hopes her comeback will take her to the US Open [ Images ] which begins in New York on August 28.