How Serena Williams is Setting Up to Reclaim the WTA's No. 1 Ranking in 2017

Serena Williams may have her sights set on breaking the all-time record for most Grand Slam titles. However, her plans to kick off 2017 hint at a desire to reclaim the WTA Tour's No. 1 ranking, too.

After a record-tying 186 consecutive weeks at No. 1, Williams relinquished the top spot to Angelique Kerber at the U.S. Open. Then Williams took the post-U.S. Open Asian swing off for the second year in a row, giving Kerber a chance to pad her points lead. 

Although Williams is scheduled to compete in the WTA's year-end championship in Singapore, her start to 2017 at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, suggests she is targeting an early-season surge. 

"It's the first event of the year. It can really set you up for a great run in Melbourne and I will be looking to start my year strongly in Auckland," Williams told reporters (via SuperSport).  

Williams has never played in Auckland, a small international event that awards a maximum 280 points. In comparison, Brisbane, where Kerber and other top players will begin 2017, has 900 points up for grabs.  

The past two years, Williams has competed in the Hopman Cup exhibition to prep for the Australian Open. A mixed-doubles competition, the Hopman Cup offers no points. 

Perhaps Williams is cognizant of the main reasons she lost the No. 1 ranking—skipping tournaments.

Last year, Williams surrendered more than 3,000 points when she shut down her season after losing in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. This year, she forfeited more than 1,500 points when she withdrew from premier tournaments in Madrid, Cincinnati and Montreal.

To put those more than 4,500 points in perspective, that's more than Agnieszka Radwanska has earned this entire year.

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The fact that Williams has only played in eight tournaments this season and remains No. 2 is a testament to how dominant she has been on the tour. 

Rested, and maybe healthier, Williams is poised to make a comeback in early 2017, which comes as no surprise to the WTA's top players. 

"I am sure that she (Williams) will (be) coming back strong," Kerber told the French news agency AFP, per the Hindustan Times.  

Petra Kvitova told Forbes' Danielle Rossingh: "It’s nice to see her (Kerber) reach the top but I think Serena will come back and be stronger again."

Early 2017 is probably her best chance to retake the top spot. Kerber has 2,000 points to defend at the Aussie Open and 305 in Brisbane. 

After losing in the semifinals at the U.S. Open, Williams withdrew from the Wuhan Open and China Open, due to injury. She told CNN International reporter Ravi Ubha: "I'm tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses that I would never lose." 

Getting healthy for a run at 2017 and more Grand Slam titles appears to be the priority. 

But don't expect next year to be a swan song. Instead, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou thinks she can win 30 Grand Slams.

"I know people are going to be very much focused on the 23rd...I'm more focused on the 30th...Why not set up a record that will never be beaten in history? I think she can do it," Mouratoglou told CNN International. 

Thirty slams is ambitious, but who would expect anything less from Williams who, along with her sister Venus, began to reshape women's tennis in the late 1990s?

So while Kerber, the reigning No. 1, and the rest of the field battle for more points in 2016, Williams is plotting a return to the top.