The 23-year-old has suffered from glandular fever and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which has forced her to shelve a promising tennis career since September 2019.

But Hives appears to be on the road to full fitness and posted a video on Facebook earlier this week of her first hit since November last year.

"I really enjoyed it. I was told to go pretty light, but occasionally I went a bit harder," she said with a laugh.

Hives said a trip to visit a new medical expert in January had revealed the POTS issue and that she had been managing her return to tennis with a gradual increase in training.

"That's what was causing my dizziness and everything and why I was so fatigued," she said of POTS.

"I've really slowly increased exercises and stuff and (Monday) I was able to get on the court again."

READ MORE: Zoe Hives to miss 2020 Australian Open through illness

The health battles came at a really bad time for Hives, who was finding the best form of her career.

She made a breakthrough appearance in an Australian Open main draw during early 2019 and managed a round one victory over US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Things had continued along well for Hives, who also claimed her first WTA doubles title in April alongside new partner Astra Sharma. In September, Hives had a world singles ranking of 142 before she stopped playing.

"I'm still not 100 per cent yet - I'm still getting some dizziness and fatigue - so I'll keep working with (my medical expert) and I'll slowly increase getting out on court. My bike is as hard as it's going to get at the moment, but I'll start going into strength and conditioning and hopefully I'll be able to run soon," Hives said.

"There's no rush with the coronavirus. I don't know if we are going to be able to play again this year. In a way it sucks, but I'm kind of lucky in that sense that I really have no rush and as long as it takes, I can just allow myself that time.

"I'm just happy that I'm starting to feel a bit better and can hit some balls again."

Hives is currently living with her parents at the family home in Kingston, which is near Creswick.