Normally it's her $40,000 diamond earrings she wears on court or her outrageously garish outfits but this week's it's Serena Williams' rump which is the talk around Melbourne town.
When the 24-year-old jetted into the Victorian capital last week, she also seemingly brought with her a few extra kilograms which
has prompted many to question whether she is any shape to collect her third Australian Open title.
"Size up Serena Williams at your own risk" smacked one headline in Australia last week and the general aspersions on Williams' weight prompted Venus to leap to the defence of her younger sister and say her determination would see her do well in Melbourne even if she wasn't 100 per cent fit. Serena also told a press conference that she was "absolutely" fit.
The younger Williams sister, more so than the less demonstrative Venus, has had a curious relationship with fans, media and fellow competitors, largely because she is such a curious individual.
Undoubtedly one of the most talented tennis players on the modern circuit who has ushered in a new era of power play, she has seemingly become more distracted by fashion, interior design and celebrity than adding to her haul of 26 career singles titles, including seven grand slam titles.
While Venus' commitment to the game is not in question, a women's circuit without Serena would be less colourful in many respects.
In the past she juggled her celebrity appointments, TV appearances and movie rehearsals without affecting her tennis but it's easy to see why she might have lost some of her once-famous fighting spirit.
With US$15.9m ($21.6m) in career earnings since she turned professional in 1995 and millions more only she and her accountant know about from endorsements, money is clearly not an issue. She's also one of only five women (Connolly, Court, Navratilova, Graf) to hold all four grand slam titles at one time when she achieved the feat in 2003.
Since then, however, injuries, loss of form and, perhaps, a loss of motivation have seen her see-saw in the rankings and she goes into the Australian Open seeded 13th. She could even meet Maria Sharapova as early as the fourth round.
Her task also isn't helped by the fact she hasn't played a tour match since September (when she was beaten by unheralded Sun Tiantian in the first round of the China Open) and battled knee and ankle injuries which restricted her to just 28 matches in 2005.
It would be dangerous, though, to rule Williams out of the running at Melbourne. In the early rounds of last year's tournament she seemed below her best and reacted angrily to suggestions she was "in decline" by claiming the title and beating Amelie Mauresmo, Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport along the way.
Both Serena and Venus opted out of any warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open, choosing instead to practise together in Melbourne. It has given observers little idea how their games might stack up in what promises to be a very competitive Australian Open.
Before she suffered a painful hip injury at last week's Sydney International that cast a shadow over her involvement in the Open, Kim Clijsters was being touted as the tournament's favourite.
This, though, was somewhat misleading. There is no single women's player who dominates the sport in the way Martina Navratilova or Steffi Graf did throughout the 1980s and 90s and in which Serena did in her earlier days.
Any one of about 10 women could realistically take out the Australian crown, including Clijsters, Davenport, Mauresmo, Sharapova, Justine Henin-Hardenne and the Williams sisters.
Since Serena lost the No 1 spot in August 2003, five different players (Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Davenport, Sharapova and Mauresmo) have traded the No 1 ranking 10 times. During the 1980s only four players occupied No 1. Add in the fact that seven players have won the past eight grand slam titles and the waters muddy even further.
Someone might be able to clear things up a little with a dominant display at Melbourne in the next two weeks.
Perhaps it will be Serena. Or perhaps she will leave Melbourne with even more question marks hanging over her head.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
Serena Williams this week. Picture / Reuters
Normally it's her $40,000 diamond earrings she wears on court or her outrageously garish outfits but this week's it's Serena Williams' rump which is the talk around Melbourne town.
When the 24-year-old jetted into the Victorian capital last week, she also seemingly brought with her a few extra kilograms which
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