With every Serena Williams tournament withdrawal, more and more people question how much longer the American will be around in the sport.
The world No. 1 has played just three tournaments since last September – Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami – and has once again, made a last-minute withdrawal from a tournament – this time Madrid – citing illness.
This season alone, Williams has pulled out of the Hopman Cup (midway), Dubai, Doha, and Madrid, and if she doesn’t make it to Rome, she’ll head to the French Open without having played a single match on clay since last July.
The last time Williams played that few tournaments heading into May was in 2011 when she was ill and recovering from a pulmonary embolism, and the time before that was in 2006, when she was struggling with a knee injury that saw her play just four tournaments all year.
The 21-time major champion has been chronicling her life through Snapchat and those who have been following can see lots of dance classes, dance competitions, commercial commitments, appearances on Home Shopping Network, taco-making sessions at home and the odd tennis practice.
Williams is understandably a busy person and she could be purposely choosing to show her fans the parts of her day that are not tennis-related. But it’s also understandable if people are getting the sense that the American is moving further away from the game.
Those die-hard fans who watched her win the Australian Open and Roland Garros last year while battling through illness – and throwing up on court – are wondering why she would pull out of a Premier Mandatory tournament that could help her prepare for the upcoming grand slam.
Is Williams intentionally playing a light schedule because it’s an Olympic year and she’s being super-selective regarding her travel?
Or is this still the aftermath of her heartbreaking semi-final loss to Roberta Vinci last September at the US Open, that ended the American’s bid to complete the Grand Slam?
Or is she gradually stepping away from the sport and preparing for what’s to come next?
It’s hard to imagine Williams would retire before at least equalling Steffi Graf’s record of 22 majors. You’d also think that when she does choose to hang up her racquet, she’d walk away with a bang.
In the past few seasons, the fans have gotten used to regularly seeing a resilient, ever-present Williams, fighting for every single victory. Will that Serena show up again anytime soon?