Serena Williams: Why She Will Not Win Another Grand Slam

As the 2011 Australian Open got under way earlier this week, there was a glaring omission at the top of the women's draw: Serena Williams.

Earlier this summer, after winning Wimbledon, Serena was having dinner at a restaurant in Munich when a waitress dropped a glass on her foot, causing a lacerated tendon. She has not appeared in a tournament since.

As if it weren't bad enough that she has to battle sister Venus, Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters to win Grand Slam titles, now she has to watch out for clumsy service attendants.

It wouldn't be so bad if Serena were still in her prime, but she's 29, and tennis players age in dog years. The window of opportunity to cement her legacy as one of the greatest female tennis players in history is closing rapidly. The more Grand Slam tournaments she misses, the harder it is to achieve immortality. The world keeps on spinning, and the players get younger, faster and stronger.

Consider the fact it will take some time for Serena to get her groove back, and suddenly that "accident" in Germany becomes even more critical to the eventual outcome of her career.

There are many skeptics who think the foot injury will cause the demise of this once great champion, and unfortunately I am one of those skeptics. Had this injury occurred five years ago, I would have said Serena had an excellent chance of bouncing back and continuing with her dominant ways, but having been an athlete myself, I understand the body just doesn't recover the same from injury as you get older.

We'll never know what might have been if not for that fateful night in Munich, but that shouldn't detract from what Serena has been able to accomplish on the court and her body of work as a whole. Serena Williams has a career Grand Slam in singles and doubles, 27 career Grand Slam titles (13 singles, 12 doubles and two mixed doubles) and has earned over $32 million in prize money.

She is a role model for young women all over the world and an example of someone that was able to make it out of the mean streets of Compton. No matter what happens from here on out, Serena Williams is a success story on and off the court. Just imagine how much more impressive her résumé would be if July 7th never happened.

Can a waitress at a restaurant in Europe really change the course of history? Just ask Serena.