By Melissa Isaacson
In four minutes, she was gone -- Serena Williams' final US Open news conference a virtual blur as one of the greatest seasons in tennis history was overshadowed by one of its greatest upsets.
In four weeks, the remainder of what had been an agonizingly challenging year for Serena would also vanish, as she cited an injured body and heart for her decision to take the rest of 2015 off and skip the WTA Finals for the first time since 2011.
Calling it a "proactive step" but a "very difficult decision," the 34-year-old vowed to return (for exhibition play) later in the year. "And when I do," she said, "I will focus and focus and focus so I can continue my journey in this beautiful game."
But 2016 began with an injury withdrawal from the Hopman Cup. It might be time to buckle up for yet another bumpy ride, for if we have learned anything about the greatest tennis player the women's game has ever seen, it's that there is no guarantee the journey itself will be quite so beautiful.
Despite winning three of four Grand Slams in 2015 and completing the "Serena Slam" at Wimbledon with her fourth consecutive major title, Williams' semifinal loss against Roberta Vinci at the US Open was shocking to all involved and spoiled Williams' run to a calendar Slam. And despite a 53-3 overall record, there were 19 three-set matches along the way, testing both her patience and championship fiber, a bad habit Chrissie Evert said will have to stop.
"She narrowly escaped so many matches, down a set, down a set and a break," the former champ and ESPN analyst said. "It can't happen again like that. [She'd have to] be immortal for that to happen.
"Serena just has to manage herself, manage her body, manage her schedule and manage her intensity when she's out there. I just felt like last year, she showed signs of not being motivated."
Williams' coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, openly questioned her motivation in encouraging her to cut short her end-of-year schedule. But last week, he ticked off the reasons why it's no longer an issue heading into the Australian Open, which begins Monday.
"First is her love of the game and second is her love of being [at] the top of the game, because it's very exciting to know you're the best player in the world and experience that feeling every day, and you don't want this to stop," he told ESPN.com.
"And third, of course, is the motivation to beat records in general," he said, referring to Williams' 21 Grand Slam titles, one short of Steffi Graf's modern-era record of 22 and three short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24. "Writing history is motivation for her."
Williams called the inflammation in her left knee, which caused her to pull out of last week's Hopman Cup, "a really minor thing." She was simply exercising precaution in preparation for Melbourne, where injury and illness threaten to hit the women's draw hard.
Two-time Wimbledon champion and No. 6-ranked Petra Kvitova has pulled out of two consecutive tournaments with a stomach virus. No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska also withdrew from the Sydney International with a left leg injury. And last week, No. 2 Simona Halep (ankle), No. 3 Garbine Muguruza (foot) and No. 5 Maria Sharapova (forearm) also retired or withdrew from tournaments.
But nothing is minor in Williams' ever-expanding galaxy, and her start to 2016 is sure to dial up the intense scrutiny on an athlete whose career longevity and personal endurance continue to fascinate people. (Reports out of Miami in mid-December said she had quit running her own charity 5K and instead took a cab to the finish line. Organizers explained later that she never intended to run.)
Williams became the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam title with the Wimbledon victory (her eighth major title after turning 30) and is the eldest No. 1 player (top-ranked for 150 consecutive weeks). But the fact that she's 34 is irrelevant to her, Mouratoglou said.
"She doesn't [talk] about age, except for joking," he said. "I think with some players [over 30], it's mental. They feel they've been around for too long a time and they're mentally tired of waking up every morning, practicing every day, traveling around the world, but she's not.
"She's still hungry, and when you're hungry, your body follows. When you're not, your body breaks down."
Williams' hunger when she's trailing in a match has rarely been questioned. Reminiscent of Michael Jordan creating his own challenges and conjuring competitive fury toward the end of his career with the Chicago Bulls, Williams seemed bored at times early in matches last year, only to stage furious comebacks in 18 of those 19 three-set matches before her three-set loss to Vinci.
"There were so many matches in the first set that she played listless tennis, lethargic, like she was going through the motions with no energy," Evert recalled. "She'd get it [back] when she got mad in the second set and finally pull these matches out. But I'd like to see her start from the first point and play some motivational tennis. Then she won't put herself in those dangerous positions."
ESPN analyst Pam Shriver said Williams' return, considering the curiosity surrounding last year's elbow problems for a player many call the most imposing server in all of tennis, will make the Australian Open "fascinating to watch on the women's side."
Shriver, no stranger to arm issues during her career, noted that any athlete in their mid-30s is vulnerable to the sort of overuse injuries Williams has experienced, and that they can manifest both physically and mentally, potentially affecting a player's serve and toss.
"I think the great concern is the arm," Shriver said. "Serena has always had this healthy, lively arm. Then [she and Mouratoglou] talked about her having elbow pain most of late spring and summer, and when you look at what happened to her serve in crucial, pressure-packed moments sometimes -- even when she won in Cincinnati -- it was so un-Serena-like. When she lost in Canada, I had never seen Serena have this problem."
Williams committed 12 double faults and had her serve broken seven times in that Rogers Cup semifinal loss to Belinda Bencic in mid-August, a match that also saw Williams commit 30 unforced errors.
Shriver compared the problems Williams experienced to players at the end of their careers who have suffered the sudden loss of both racket speed and confidence in their serves, even experiencing the yips with their tosses.
"It didn't last long [for Serena], but it affected her at the [US] Open," Shriver said. "So that's a huge thing to look for in Melbourne. [Her serve] is her bread and butter, what makes the rest of her game relaxed."
For Mouratoglou, the fact that Williams fought through her problems is just another reason to be confident in 2016.
"She always finds a way to win, even when something is off, even with such an important weapon as her serve, both when she was in pain or sick as she was at the Australian Open and incredibly sick at Roland Garros," Mouratoglou said. "That's why [last] year was, for me, very impressive, because she had to fight through so many problems to win three of four [Grand Slam titles]."
Before her Hopman Cup withdrawal, Williams was "refreshed, fit and looking very good," according to Mouratoglou, and that she would play a bit less in 2016, but does want to compete at the Rio Olympics in August.
"We're doing everything we have to do in order for [2016] to be the best possible," he said. "The rest was necessary and we did it, and now the preparation, so there's nothing else we can do.
"She should be healthier and, if not, we'll just find another solution."
Melissa Isaacson is a columnist for espnW.com, ESPN Chicago and ESPN.com. The award-winning writer has covered Chicago sports for most of her 32-year career, including at the Chicago Tribune, before joining ESPN in 2009, and has also covered tennis since 1986.
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