SERENA WILLIAMS WON'T SLOW DOWN

Serena Williams turned pro in 1995 at the age of 14, and the decision hardly caused a ripple at the time. Women's tennis had long been a teenager's game: In 1976, Tracy Austin made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a precocious 13-year-old in pigtails, with the caption "A Star Is Born"; in 1988, Steffi Graf won a calendar Grand Slam when she was 19.

When Williams captured her first Grand Slam title, the 1999 U.S. Open, she was 17, an up-and-comer. The reigning queen of women's tennis, the player she defeated, was the veteran Martina Hingis, who was all of 18.

But the pendulum has swung dramatically since that era, to the point where teens are comparatively rare and Williams, now 33, is turning in a season for the ages.

Williams has already won the first three Grand Slam events of the year – the Australian and French Opens, and Wimbledon. In September at the U.S. Open, playing as the defending champion, Williams will have a chance to win a calendar Grand Slam for the first time in her career.

What we're seeing from Williams this year is practically unprecedented in modern professional sport. Here is an athlete who's in the conversation for the greatest women's tennis player of all time and still the pre-eminent figure in the sport, yet she's nearing the end of her second decade as a pro.

Think of the greats in all other sports – team or individual, male or female – and ask yourself: After two decades, did any of them still dominate their peers the way Williams has this season? She has compiled a 40-1 match record going into the Rogers Cup; her only singles loss was to Petra Kvitova on clay in Madrid back in the spring.

Sure, many of those greats remained highly effective players and could often show glimpses of their former greatness. But not utter dominance.

Williams, today, casts such an imposing shadow over the women's game that, when she is on, most of her peers will concede they start tournaments fighting for second place.

"Obviously, Serena is a level above us when she's playing well, so it's hard," says Caroline Wozniacki, the No. 5 player on the tour and one of Williams's closest friend on the tour. "I think we all try and do our best to bring her to our level."

Apart from Graf in 1988, only Maureen Connolly (1953) and Margaret Court (1970) have ever won a calendar Grand Slam on the women's side.

"She's such an amazing athlete and I really hope she can do it," says Ana Ivanovic, who, as No. 6 in the world, is among the players who potentially could stand in Williams's way. "She's been working really hard and she's been on top of the game for so long, so I think she deserves it."

It is pointed out to Ivanovic that it's an odd thing to hear Williams's peers speak so admiringly – that she would be cheering on her competitors' pursuit of this significant career milestone.

"I know, I know," Ivanovic answers as a smile spreads animatedly across her face. "But she's such a great athlete and we're so lucky to have someone like her in our sport. I don't think many people realize it, and I don't think she gets enough credit for what she's achieved. Everyone only talks about men's tennis, but to have someone like Serena, it's really very fortunate."

Ivanovic raises an interesting question about Williams' career arc: Does she get enough credit for what she's accomplished on the tennis court?

Admittedly, at different times in her career, Williams has been a polarizing figure in the sport. She received well-deserved criticism – and a hefty fine – for verbally abusing a linesperson at the 2009 U.S. Open, going off, McEnroe-like, after she'd been called for a foot fault at a critical point in a match she eventually lost to Kim Clijsters.

There have been injuries and illnesses along the way, resulting in dips in her ranking.

A current profile in New York Magazine shows her in a stunning photo layout, but the accompanying text can't resist a snarky dig about how she sells her fashion line on the Home Shopping Network.

But here in Toronto, competing in a Rogers Cup tournament she has won the last two times it was played in the city, she is the star, and other luminaries gather to watch her play. Drake and Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki – among the best at their respective pursuits – are here to acknowledge the absolute best in hers. On media day, she mounts a full charm offensive. She is open, chatty, makes eye contact and even engages in a bit of banter with reporters. She plays along as Wozniacki pretends to interview her during the press briefing. She appears content with the balance in her life – like a lot of athletes with many years and successes behind them, she acknowledges she is enjoying the second half of her career more than the first.

"Every year that goes by, I start to love the game more than in the previous year, and that's rare," Williams says. "Sometimes, I step out on that court – mainly for matches – and I really feel this incredible joy and appreciation of being out there. 'Wow. I'm living my dream.'"

By this time in a career, she adds, "you've learned from your ups and downs, and you're able to not make the same mistakes and not feel the same pressures. You almost feel a little more free because you don't have to prove anything. I think that plays a lot into it."

Mainstream commentaries about Williams's game generally focus on her power and strength, but according to Germany's Andrea Petkovic, who lost to Williams in the round of 16, that portrayal overlooks two other important parts of her game – her serve and her court sense.

"She's strong, obviously," Petkovic explains, "but when you play her, it's not her power, it's her serve. She just gets a lot of free points on her serve and you feel the pressure from there. But once she's in the rally, she tries to open up the court with the angle and then goes for the ball. She really builds the point. She doesn't always go full power."

"And I don't think she would be where she is with just that type of [power] game," Petkovic continues. "Maybe 10 years ago, but not today. Today is physically so fast, so you can get to those balls. If you play like this, we can handle those balls. But she plays very, very smart, and I think people don't give her enough credit for that. She's crafty. She can play anything. I remember the match she played against [Justine] Henin at the [2010] Australian Open, where she was forced to play the higher slice and the spin, and she did all that. People tend to focus on the most obvious, and that's the power, but you know, that's people."

Unlike some players of her generation, who grind it out week after week on tour, Williams has always played a shorter competition schedule. It hasn't prevented her from earning almost $73-million in career prize money, or attracting more than five million Twitter followers. But even though she's filled her off time pursuing a lot of different interests – from acting and fashion to philanthropy – Williams says "I haven't burned myself out."

Going into the Rogers Cup, she was ranked No. 1 with 12,371 points, miles ahead of Maria Sharapova, the No. 2 player in the world, who withdrew from Toronto because of an injury and is at 6,386. Sharapova won two of their first three career meetings back in 2004, but since then Williams has won 17 in a row.

What's more, according to Ivanovic, women's professional tennis has never been deeper, making the gap between Williams and the rest of the field all the more extraordinary.

"In times before, it was a little bit different. But now, from the first round in a Grand Slam, you have to fight for it," Ivanovic says. "Even 10 years ago, when I was starting, top seeds, the first three or four rounds, they had it easy. But now, it's changed a lot. The game is much tougher. So in this era, to be so dominant is amazing."

Women's Tennis Association chairman and CEO Stacey Allaster says Williams's influence has been profound, on and off the court, and the tour is lucky to have her.

"I think it's an absolute gift that she chose to play tennis," Allaster told The Globe and Mail's Rachel Brady. "If we look in the United States 15 years ago, there weren't that many African Americans playing tennis, and now, when we look at the top 100 Americans, there are several. So she is breaking some barriers there.

"Together with [sister] Venus, who has been our modern day Billie Jean King, she has helped us achieve equal prize money. Each generation takes the sport to the next level, and how lucky have we been to have two of the best of the best female athletes competing in our sport. They physically took the game to a new level with their strength and power. And now, playing tennis at 33 and 35, they have changed the way people think about the career length of our top players in women's tennis."

Still, Karl Hale, the tournament director in Toronto who has become a friend of the Williams family over the years, believes it is impossible to compare tennis players across the eras because so much has changed, from the equipment to the way players train and prepare for competition.

"All you can do is compare them to their eras, and how they dominate them. Just as Graf dominated hers, Serena is dominating hers and Martina [Navratilova] did as well.

"I've gotten to know [Serena] really well over the past couple of years because I took her whole family down to Jamaica, and they're an unbelievable family. They're really close. They really support each other a lot. Public perception can be different at times, but they're incredible people. Really genuine. Really sweet.

"As you know, in her world, it's very difficult because there are so many needs and wants and asks for her. Behind the scenes, she's just an awesome person."

When Williams is asked about her legacy, she concedes that it does cross her mind occasionally.

"My legacy, I always hoped, would be just someone who was the best I could be on the court, but it would also be the things I've done off the court – the different charities I've been involved in," she says. "For me, the opportunity to be a good player has given me the opportunity to help other people too. For me, that's really important."

And if the pre-teen Serena Williams, growing up in Compton, Calif., could look into a crystal ball and see what the soon-to-be-34-year-old version of her had accomplished, what would she think?

"I think she'd be really happy," Hale answers. "She's handled the fame really well. There've been a few moments here and there, but we all have those. She's done so much good for the community, but I also think she wants to leave a legacy as the greatest female player of all time. It really is important to her. So she's enjoying it, yes, but she's also putting a lot of pressure on herself to leave that mark on the game.

"Knowing her, she's not thinking about the finish line. She's taking every championship as it comes and continuing to do great things. But she's not done yet."