For a change, the big question in the upcoming edition of US Open tennis will not be about the ‘usual suspects’. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic may add another grand slam to his trophy cabinet, good ole Swiss master Roger Federer may start conjuring up some of his old magic before possibly flattering to deceive — but the tennis fraternity will be waiting for the defining moment in the career of Serena Williams.

It’s all perhaps the fault of the younger of Williams sisters. Ever since she won her first grand slam, incidentally a US Open only at a precocious 17 years, we have almost taken the dominance of the Williams sisters on the women’s arena for granted. As Venus drifted into some kind of a bit-part role after her illness, but with a glittering array of trophies, it seems to have induced a renewed focus in Serena’s game to conquer new peaks.

There are a slew of landmarks waiting to fall at her feet — the two most prominent of them being equalling the landmark of 22 grand slams of Steffi Graf and a calendar slam, which only Graf, Margaret Court, Maureen Connolly, Don Budge and Rod Laver have to their credit.

Given her current form, one can then wager on her to eye the magic figure of 24 slam crowns — the highest, which stands in the name of Court in the pre-Open era.

While she shows no signs of slowing down on the court, it’s her growing stature as an African-American icon that has prompted a serious assessment of her role in fighting racism in American society. It’s been one long battle against racism that the two Williams have fought, with an air of defiance of norms and domination on court rather than any overt activism, something which has caught the fancy of sociologists all over again.

It takes guts to boycott a tournament like Indian Wells for the best part of her career because of the racist chants Serena was subjected to way back in 2001. The taunts have continued even after the legacy of the Williams family has been built, when only recently an indignant president of the Russian tennis body referred to the Williams sisters as ‘brothers’.

In a recent interview, Serena explained her positioning eloquently as never before: “Maybe it’s meant to be the next [black] person to be amazing, and I am just opening the door. Zina Garrison, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe and Venus opened so many doors for me. I am just opening the next door for the next person.”

It’s an unfamiliar attempt at humility, though. By the time she is through with tennis, Serena will have established herself as one of the greatest achievers in the history of women’s sport — not to speak of being a shining icon of defiance against racism.