• What the Deuce

Soul-searching ahead for Serena

Serena Williams has had eight months on the sidelines © Getty Images

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• Profile: Serena Williams

Serena Williams' list of injury woes over the years resembles a rendition of Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, with everything from 'flu to knee surgery stopping her in her tracks.

Time and time again Williams has bounced back from a catalogue of injuries, with persistent knee problems a constant source of aggravation.

When fit and firing, Williams has no equal - which prompts the question, just how many grand slam titles could she have won if, like Roger Federer, she had managed to steer clear of injury?

While 16-time grand slam champion Federer has never missed a major, Williams has skipped ten slams over the same time period. It is, however, unfair to compare the two - Federer is undoubtedly the exception rather than the rule, and for a player to play at the top level of professional sport for well over a decade and manage to avoid serious injury is some feat.

Over a period of nine years, Williams has spent 123 weeks as world No. 1, but has yo-yoed up and down the rankings as her career has been hampered by persistent knee injuries - requiring major surgery in August 2003 - and then a series of knee, ankle and shoulder problems that saw her plummet outside the world's top 100 in 2006.

Williams has not played since winning her fourth Wimbledon title in July- cutting her foot on a shard of glass in a restaurant in the aftermath - but despite having played just four tournaments in the last 12 months, she is still ranked No. 11.

Williams has bounced back from a multitude of injuries © Getty Images

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Injuries are part and parcel of being a professional tennis player, but Williams' latest setback could be more serious. The Wimbledon champion was rushed into hospital to have a blood clot removed from her lung - an ordeal she described as "extremely hard, scary and disappointing".

Injuries are pretty clear-cut - but a health scare is a different matter entirely. The whole ordeal is likely to have put things into perspective and dramatically changed her attitude - not just towards tennis but life in general.

With more than $30 million in career prize money (plus an estimated $8 million a year in endorsements), Williams does not need to play tennis for the money. With a fashion line, a bit-part acting career, a stake in the NFL's Miami Dolphins and a charity foundation, there is no shortage of ways Williams could choose to spend her time when she decides to hang up her racket.

Although she still plans to defend her Wimbledon title, a spell of soul-searching may prompt her to call it a day and no-one could blame her for deciding to pursue other interests. But then again we could see the other extreme - such a scare could prompt her to throw herself into her tennis, in a way we haven't seen for quite some time.

And that would be a very worrying prospect for her rivals.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.