Jim Courier is convinced Serena Williams would be “quite aware” of the furore surrounding Mark Knight’s controversial cartoon.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion will play in the Hopman Cup in Perth before the Australian Open in January, marking her first competitive appearance since her infamous meltdown during the 2018 US Open final.

The Herald Sun cartoonist’s depiction of Serena went global in the days following her loss to Naomi Osaka.

Courier said he was looking forward to seeing the 37-year-old return to Australia in the coming months.

“Serena Williams is a really prominent person in the world (generally), not just the tennis world,” he said.

“She’s taken on this role as standing up for working mothers and taking up more responsibilities from the social standpoint.

“She’ll be aware of good things being said about her (as well as bad things) and she’s very image conscious.

“It’s going to be highly anticipated to see her back in Australia, they’re going to be a lot of discussion about Serena and it’ll be great to see her back on tour.”

Click PLAY to hear Neil’s full chat with Jim Courier