Serena Williams and the season of her content

Briefly back at No.1 after her stirring U.S. Open victory in September, Serena Williams soon surrendered that position to Jelena Jankovic and has now retreated to No.3 after playing just one singles match in the last eight weeks.
 
No one, above all women's tour officials, will ever accuse Williams or her sister Venus of playing too many tournaments. But at least she and Venus are still playing after all these years, unlike retired rivals like Martina Hingis, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. In this egalitarian season, when No.1 seemed increasingly like just another number, Williams had the best record of any player in the big events, reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the final at Wimbledon and winning big in New York after capturing a gold medal in doubles with Venus in Beijing.
 
It was not 2002 revisited, when she dominated the game. But it was a reassuring, relatively consistent performance from a champion who was outside the top 100 in 2006 and wondering if her fragile knee would let her rise again.
 
Her 43 victories this season are the second-highest total of her career, after 2002, and she has one event left, the season-ending championships in Qatar. This is her first trip to Doha. She spoke with Christopher Clarey of the International Herald Tribune before she left the United States.
 
Let's start with something nice but true. I thought your level at the U.S. Open, particularly in the final, was the best I've seen you play, and I've been watching you for more than a decade.
 
Wow. Really? Cool. I want to say thanks, but I guess this is an interview so I better not say thanks. I think definitely it was really consistent. My whole game really was coming together.
 
The season is not over, but the statistics say that it was probably your most complete year since 2002, although there were minor injuries and some low points - the French Open and the Olympic singles. How do you see it?
 
That was my goal, to be more consistent, to play more tournaments. I love playing tennis and love the competition and love being out there. My goal at the beginning of the year was just to be happy every time I go out there and just play, and that was what I pretty much did.
 
Except for Paris, where you didn't look too happy or consistent in a loss to Katarina Srebotnik in the third round.
 
Yeah, I was really disappointed. I think I put too much pressure on myself because I had been doing so well. Coming up to Paris, I think everyone expected me to win, as well as myself, and I just crashed and burned. It was the first time I lost that early in a Grand Slam in I don't know how long. But I learned from that and was able to move forward. It was just a blip. I was so disappointed after. I don't even think I can describe in words how disappointed I was.
 
Jelena Jankovic has locked up the year-end No.1 ranking. You have a chance to get to No.2. How do you feel about that? You've beaten Jankovic in two out of three matches this year, including the U.S. Open final, and she has never won a Slam.
 
Well, obviously I do want to be the best, and I do want to be No.1. And quite frankly, everyone thinks I am anyway. So you know I never correct them. I just let them believe what really should be. She's been playing very consistently all year, and she plays every week, so I guess in this tour if you play every week you have a chance of being No.1. My goal is to win Slams. I'd much rather have a Grand Slam this year than the No.1 ranking.
 
What's the emotional highlight of the year for you? The U.S. Open or Beijing with your sister?
 
Definitely the Olympics, definitely hands down. I just was looking at my gold medal yesterday. It's so cool and nothing beats that. I can always win a Grand Slam. I guess not everyone can say that.
 
I know you're a Jehovah's Witness and don't usually get involved with politics, but it is a remarkable, historic moment, and Barack Obama appears to be in a strong position to become the first black U.S. president. What are your thoughts as an African American?
 
I don't really get involved in political affairs because of the way I was brought up and being a Jehovah's Witness, but it's exciting to see someone like Barack Obama have a chance to lead one of the world's biggest nations. And it's just interesting - think 40 years ago or 30 years ago, all the things that were going on, the persecution we had to go through. And it's good. It makes my heart smile.
 
You don't vote, correct?
 
No. I don't vote.
 
Have you had any connection with Obama? Seen him in person, met him, donated any money?
 
No, I have not. It would have been nice. He's a good leader and a good speaker and really just a good leader, and I think that's one of the many, many, many things our country could use right now.
 
What about your trip to Africa in November?
 
I am going to Kenya, South Africa and Senegal and am going to Kenya and South Africa with HP to donate computers to schools there and the kids there. I love doing anything that involves philanthropic endeavors. In Senegal, I'm going to look at the land to start building a school.
 
You watched the tour championships in New York as a kid. They were moved to Los Angeles essentially because of you and Venus. How do you feel now that they are halfway around the world from you in Doha? Are you excited about maybe playing a role for women in a region where they may not have the same rights as you have?
 
I think that's really exciting. You travel to these Middle Eastern countries and women are treated as second-class citizens, and it's important I think to have tournaments in these areas. Or not only tournaments but just different events and different things, so people can see a different side of the world. Even if you can encourage just one person or two people, I think you can make a really big difference.
 
Larry Scott, the WTA Tour chairman, says that Doha was picked partly because the tour needed the money, and they came up with a lot of it. That's going to help support and promote the tour for the next three years. How do you feel about those tradeoffs as a businesswoman?
 
You know one thing you have to learn as a businessperson is that you can't do everything for money because sometimes it's a downfall in the long run. But some things you have to do just to get a kickstart and just get a jump-start and hopefully this is one of the things that won't end up being a bad thing.
 
Are you concerned because of where it is, not in a traditional tennis base, it might get lost in the shuffle?
 
I think it will get lost definitely in the shuffle. To be honest, every tournament after the U.S. Open gets lost in the shuffle so it's almost pointless to even have tournaments too much after that, because it's like no one really knows the season is still going on. This has been happening for years, which is why I liked when it was in New York because it was there for so long that people knew about it. But again, it was a good business decision to go to Doha, and I support the tour and hopefully it will be a positive thing.
 
I'm going to quote you here about a relationship: "Slowly as you try to focus on other things and think of other people you put your heart back into that steel case. And throw away the keys. Tears make you feel a little better, but the pain is piercing through your soul." That was from your blog in January. You sound pretty happy these days. Does that entry seem long ago? How are things now on that front?

That blog entry was forever ago. I like to write blogs people can really read and feel my heart and just go with me and that way people can understand who I am as a person better and just get a real view of who Serena is. But I'm really happy right now. But most of all, I'm really happy spiritually and with my career. Life is such a big picture for me. I feel like I'm just a kid and have so much to experience in my life.
 
You live in a fishbowl. Someone posted a video on the Web of you surfing in Hawaii and spending time with the rapper Common. Would you care to comment on that relationship?
 
No, of course not. Come on.
 
Let's at least talk surfing then.
 
I love to surf. I've been surfing since I was 15.
 
Does it ever stress you out that within a matter of minutes, everything you do in the public domain in this era can be on the Internet? Everything is so instantaneous.
 
It is. That's the perfect word for it: Everything is so instantaneous. The more you are out there, the more people want to see. In a way, sometimes for some people it's good for their career, but, for me, my career isn't built on that.