MELBOURNE -- At age 35, Venus Williams entered the Australian Open as the oldest player in the field. She also was coming off an astounding 2015 in which she won three tournaments, reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open (where Serena beat her both times -- thanks, sis!), returned to the top 10 for the first time in four years and was named the WTA Comeback Player of the Year.
How will 2016 go? It hasn't gotten off to a great start. After losing in the first round at Auckland, Williams lost in straight sets (6-4, 6-2) to Johanna Konta in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. Venus and Serena are not playing doubles in Australia, so the elder Williams' tournament is over here. The question is how many rounds she might last in future majors.
While Serena has won four of the past five majors and eight of the past 14, Venus hasn't won a Slam since Wimbledon 2008. Tuesday was the second time she has lost in the first round of a major in the past year. She hasn't made it past the quarterfinals at a major since 2010, and she has lost in the first or second round nine times at a Slam over the past five years.
When Williams lost in the first round at Roland Garros last year, she did not make herself available to the media and was fined. That appeared to be the case again several hours after her loss on Tuesday, but Konta was more than willing to talk about her opponent.
"I think it would be silly to look at Venus' age and somehow consider that as a reflection of her level," Konta said when asked about Williams' comeback at 35. "I think it's irrelevant how old she is because she's such a champion with so much experience and so much knowledge about the game. Even if she's playing with one leg out there, you've got to really take care of things on your own because she's an incredible player. I have all the respect for her in the world."
Konta was born in Australia, where she played the under-12 nationals on Rod Laver Arena -- "I remember having to kick our shoes off because the rubber was melting" -- before moving to England in 2005 and becoming a British citizen. This was her first time playing in the main draw of the Australian Open. "When the draw came out and I saw who I was playing," Konta said, "I was like, 'I just hope I stay out there more than an hour.'"
She shouldn't have been too concerned, given that the previous time the two had played in the quarterfinals of last fall's Wuhan Open, they had a long, tight match that Venus won 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Despite the loss, Konta gained some needed experience from playing Williams.
"It did give me the opportunity that I had been on court with her before," Konta said. "I had a better understanding, a better feel of what kind of ball was going to be coming off her racket. In that sense, I was more comfortable out there. It was definitely a different setting and different tournament. That in itself had its own challenges. I'm very happy with the game plan I went out there with and just my ability to really stick with it, even when things were getting a bit close."
Well, things didn't get all that close. While Venus trailed most of the first set -- she was down 5-2 -- she rallied a bit to make it 5-4 before losing. Williams quickly fell behind 5-0 in the second set before rallying briefly again by winning 10 consecutive points. She could not maintain the momentum, however, and walked off the court.
How will the rest of the season go for Venus? Will she walk off as a winner? Can she match last year's success given that she will turn 36 this summer? We'll have to see. Nothing will be easy at her age. But as she proved last year, don't count her out.