Williams sent shock waves through the sporting media shortly after winning her first match of 2012 at the Brisbane International, declaring, "I don't love tennis today." She added, "I've actually never liked sports, and I never understood how I became an athlete. I don't like working out; I don't like anything that has to do with working physically."

Her newly declared antipathy toward the athletic life received a great boost just a day later, when she rolled an ankle and had to pull out of the Brisbane event. She doesn't have to worry about all that annoying physical stuff for a while now. It was just the third match Serena has played since September, and the injury jeopardizes whatever hopes she or her fans might have had for her in the upcoming Australian Open.

Serena's problem appears to be that she likes the reward (celebrity and money) but not the process. She would like to win the Australian title and any number of other tournaments, but she hates having to go through the motions -- you know, the long practice sessions, the diet, the gym workouts and even that messy business of playing matches. It's not a good problem to have, at least not for an athlete.

In some ways, you can't blame Serena. She's 30 years old and has been working hard at tennis since she emerged from toddler-hood under the tutelage of her ambitious father, Richard Williams. She's done the heavy lifting of career. She has a right to be tired, bored and even disillusioned. But that doesn't get her anywhere with the 2012 season upon us.

What people really want to know is: Does she still have it?

Only Serena can provide the answer to that, and we learned some time ago that it's foolhardy to underestimate her. But this latest ankle injury may be an omen.

Serena missed the better part of a year after she sustained a severe cut on her foot from broken glass shortly after she won Wimbledon in 2010, and she had a terrible scare early last year because of a blood clot. She didn't return to the tour until shortly before Wimbledon in July, and lost in London in the fourth round to Marion Bartoli.

Serena played well on the North American hard-court circuit in the summer but lost the U.S. Open final to first-time Grand Slam champion -- and former head case -- Samantha Stosur. Serena never played again in 2011, noting in Brisbane the other day that Asia is "so far" and that she was "tired."

In other words, Serena just didn't have it in her to use the fall to her advantage, or even to work her way back into shape. You can't exactly blame her for assuming she could blow off the last quarter of the year and everything would still be OK, because it often worked out that way in the past.

But nothing stays the same, and getting older is a bear. It may be wiser to play less, but it helps if you do it in the interest of ultimately playing better -- as Roger Federer, that other 30-year-old, demonstrated to close out his 2011 season.

Like Serena, Federer skipped the Asian circuit entirely. But then he roared back, winning back-to-back-to-back tournaments in Basel, Paris and London (site of the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals). Clearly, he had a point to make and spent the fall preparing to deliver his message. We got it, as did his great rival Rafael Nadal (Federer beat him 6-3, 6-0 at that World Tour event).

The odds that Serena can make a similar point in Melbourne diminished significantly in Brisbane. Perhaps it was just bad timing, but her injury -- coming on the heels of her ambivalent remarks -- suggests that she may no longer have what it takes to win majors.