Over the first 10 days of 2017, we're examining the Top 10 players on the ATP and WTA tours—how will they fare during the new season? All of the previews can be found here.
In 2016, for the first time as a thirty-something, Serena Williams didn’t have a wholly successful season. She lost her No. 1 ranking after 186 straight weeks in that spot, won “only” one major and played just eight events. The last we saw of her, she was double-faulting a U.S. Open semifinal away to Karolina Pliskova before a stunned audience in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Seen another way, though, Serena’s 2016 was one more example of her continuing dominance. How do you play just eight tournaments and still finish No. 2 in the world? You make the most of your time on court: Serena won Wimbledon and Rome, reached the finals in Melbourne, Paris and Indian Wells, and lost in the semis at the U.S. Open. Agnieszka Radwanska played 23 events, but still finished one spot behind Serena in the rankings at No. 3.
Serena’s severely limited schedule can be seen as a sign that, at age 35 and after 17 years in the pros, she has finally had her fill of all the training and travel required to play on the tour. But that schedule can also be seen as a solution to the problem. How does a tennis star remain a viable Grand Slam contender into her mid-30? No one in the Open era knows; even Martina Navratilova, the WTA’s last ageless wonder, didn’t win any majors after she was 33. But if Serena can enter just eight events and still finish No. 2, the idea of her playing for three or four more years no longer sounds far-fetched. She may have an example of how to pull it off right in front of her: Serena’s sister, Venus, is talking about playing the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.