Serena Williams' Charge Toward Putting Women's Tennis in the Spotlight

Serena Williams' muscular physique, the hottest topic in tennis the past week, was yet another example of how the 21-time Grand Slam winner keeps the WTA Tour in the news.

As if the burden of pursuing a calendar Grand Slam and winning a seventh U.S. Open title weren't enough, Williams is also carrying women's tennis on her back.

No wonder she needs a break. Williams announced on Facebook (h/t ESPN.com) she would be taking time off to recuperate from an elbow injury she suffered in practice at the Swedish Open in Bastad. Williams also will not be playing World Team Tennis for the Washington Kastles, according to the Associated Press (via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

Meanwhile, her pursuit of the calendar Slam and Steffi Graf's Open Era record of 22 Slam titles seems like the only topic in women's tennis. Can she? Will she?

According to Forbes, tickets for the second week at the U.S. Open are skyrocketing. The average ticket price for the women's final is $611, up 12 percent since Williams won Wimbledon.

If people are not discussing her race to the record books, they're sharing every morsel of news she feeds social media.

Her accomplishments warrant the coverage. She's the reigning champion of all four Grand Slams. She's by far the best player on the tour. She reached 250 weeks at No. 1 and $72.7 million in career prize money, more than double of No. 2 Maria Sharapova ($35.8).

Still, women's tennis keeps going, even if Williams takes a break. Or does it? If a WTA tournament takes place and Williams doesn't play in it, how legit is it?

Of course, the WTA has emerging stars such as Garbine Muguruza, Madison Keys and Eugenie Bouchard. Yet the WTA's relevance seems to rely heavily on Williams in this content-driven era.

Johanna Larsson just won her first WTA title, the Swedish Open. Larsson is Swedish, but we didn't see her receive the royal welcome the tournament organizers laid out for Williams. We didn't see people lined up for defending champion Mona Barthel's arrival to town, either.

Monday, Anna Schmiedlova upset Sara Errani in Bucharest. It was the rising WTA star's second title. Maybe you missed it.

Instead, you may have seen the headline driving traffic to espnW: "Why Serena Williams is So Excited About Ordering a Salad." The article features a tweet from Williams with a link to Periscope footage of her ordering a salad from an airport sushi bar.

In case anyone was wondering, Magdalena Rybarikova upset second seed Elina Svitolina in the first round at Istanbul Sunday. That's a big win. But perhaps not as important to Twitter followers as the cute Instagram video of Williams' dog Chip. You see, Chip made espnW and USA Today.

Even on a day when golf—the British Open—ruled sports conversations, Williams remained a hot topic. The PGA's Jordan Spieth's failure to win a third consecutive major drew comparisons to Williams' pursuit of the calendar Slam.

In linking Williams and Spieth, the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore wrote, "Now it's only Williams, a singular athlete nearing the end of a singular career aiming at a singular accomplishment. Serena stands alone, again."

Sometimes it seems that way, that it's Williams or nothing at all. Lately, Williams seems like the only buzz-worthy name in women's tennis.

Even when the topic is negative, such as the New York Times' poorly executed examination of body image among female tennis players, Williams dominates the headlines. The article sparked outrage from tennis fans and members of the media who saw it as a veiled attack on Williams.

The debate about whether the article was racist, sexist or both played out on social media and websites. Williams was everywhere. Even her eyebrows made headlines.

At Wimbledon, Williams' buddy Caroline Wozniacki complained about women being unfairly scheduled on show courts at the All England Club. Williams played all her matches on show courts.

Besides being No. 1 and a six-time Wimbledon champion, Williams is the biggest ratings draw in tennis.

According to Sports Media Watch, television ratings for the ladies' singles finals were up 89 percent from last year when Petra Kvitova faced Bouchard, Sports Pro Media's most marketable person in sports. It was the highest-rated Wimbledon Finals since Williams' last appearance in 2012.

Ratings for the French Open Finals against Lucie Safarova were up 18 percent from the previous year's match that featured Sharapova against Simona Halep. Williams' match outdrew the men's finals featuring Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.

Hey, Tuesday, Venus Williams has an interesting opening match against Kateryna Bondarenko in Istanbul. Remember Venus Williams, Serena's older sister, the one with seven Grand Slams, second most among active players? She's on the other side of the world from her sister, who is back in Florida for some rest and relaxation.

Wonder if Venus' match will get more viewers than Serena's next tweet? Doubt it.