She played against Steffi Graf and Monica Seles and engaged in a battle of wits with Martina Hingis, on and off the court, through both retirements.
Her peers Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin have settled into retirement, and this brings forth a sudden thought:
Serena Williams is middle-aged.
Of course, a qualifier is needed before that gets misconstrued about someone who is in her tennis prime at 26.
Middle-aged only in tennis terms.
Age came up during a media session Monday for the East West Bank Classic at the Home Depot Center because Williams is headed to Beijing and one of her fellow U.S. Olympians, swimmer Dara Torres, is 41.
Williams was asked, jokingly, if she still intended to be playing tennis at 41.
"Yeah," she said, pausing for effect.
"But not professionally."
Williams was in a better mood than one might expect for someone who is dealing with a potentially troublesome knee injury in the heart of the tennis season.
Among other things, she fielded questions about fellow tour player Ashley Harkleroad, who has created a stir by posing for Playboy. Williams, when asked, said that she too had been contacted by the magazine.
And her answer?
"I was busy," Williams said, smiling.
This light moment came after Williams discussed her most recent injury. She hurt her left knee and pulled out during her semifinal match Saturday at the Bank of the West tournament at Stanford.
Williams said she had an MRI afterward and it showed an inflamed joint as a result of overwork, and she acknowledged that her father Richard and one of her doctors did not want her playing on it.
"He's always really passive and I'm more aggressive," Williams said of her father's approach to injuries. Both her older sister, Venus, and Lindsay Davenport withdrew from the Carson tournament on Friday because of injured right knees.
"It's the first time all year I pulled out with a knee injury and I've been doing really well all year," she said. "Maybe it's just saying, 'Serena, take a three-day vacation.' "
When that knee talks, it's good to listen, based on history.
Because Williams has a first-round bye at Carson she can give the knee an extra day of rest and start Wednesday.
Injuries and outside interests have cut into her tournament play over the years, and interestingly, the light playing schedule could extend the careers of Venus and Serena.
