Serena Williams has always hewn to an idiosyncratic playing schedule that has included weeks-long absences from the tour, followed by forceful returns at tournaments. She did it as a teenager and shes doing it again now in the gloaming of her career.So Williams announcement Sunday evening that she was really, really bummed to be withdrawing from the year-end WTA Finals in Singapore for the second straight year -- this time citing the unspecified shoulder injury that first began bothering her mid-summer -- didnt exactly establish a new personal precedent or surprise even her most ardent followers.What Williams decision did do is revive the usual intrigue about what is really going on with her -- questions that now wont begin to be answered until after New Years, when shes scheduled to play an early January tune-up for the Australian Open.After being upset in the US Open semifinals on Sept. 8, Williams said she was tired of playing hurt. She said perhaps she just needed to go away and get fully healthy before showing up again. And she seems to be keeping her word.But at 35, any perceived blip in desire or dip in form will raise questions about whether this is the beginning of the end for Williams as the dominant player on tour. For the second straight year, she has chosen to skip the last 3? months of the season. This time around, she said in an explanatory video posted to the WTAs Facebook page that she was withdrawing because, My doctor insists that I stay home and heal [my shoulder] every single day, and just do different treatments every day so I can have a chance to play next year and hopefully make it back to Singapore and reconnect with her fans.But fans are an independent-thinking, perceptive bunch. In the comment section below the video, reactions ranged from congratulating Williams on the brilliant management of her career, to questioning her commitment by juxtaposing her on-court inactivity with her frequent Instagram and Twitter posts about her off-court exploits.Three weeks ago, Williams turned up in Milan tweeting about how she was spending time working and hanging out with fashion designer Donatella Versace. Ten days ago, she floated up a teaser on Twitter saying something exciting is going to happen in about two hours -- then posted photos of herself wearing a spangly leotard and fishnet stockings for an on-stage cameo at her friend Beyonces concert. Just a few days ago, paparazzi in New York photographed her out with Taylor Swift.So while Williams has indeed disappeared from the tour itself, she has hardly been invisible -- let alone tied to rehab workouts at home every day under doctors orders, as she suggested in the WTA video.But theres nothing wrong with that. Expecting athletes to lead some monastic existence when they are injured and not playing has always been a farce. Williams can rehab anywhere. Being famous shouldnt require her to stop being human. She has never been obsessed with people-pleasing optics, anyway. The older she gets, she cares even less.The only pertinent questions about Williams right now in tennis terms are these: Will yet another long break help or hurt her career? Does leaving the tour this long signify anything foreboding? How long can she keep up this high-wire act?With Williams, there have always been two ways to look at it.The first school of thought contends that her many long hiatuses are the reason, along with her talent, that Williams has lasted this long at the top.The second argument is Williams increasingly frequent absences underscore how shes an aging champion who is increasingly fighting physical breakdowns and a bad case of ennui.Truthfully, Williams has only herself to blame for the questions about her desire.She admittedly suffered a long emotional hangover last year after her shocking US Open semifinal loss to?Roberta Vinci that ruined her bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam sweep. Her semifinal upset at the 2016 US Open against Karolina Pliskova was also bitterly disappointing. ESPN commentator Chris Evert wasnt the only one who said, I have to admit, I didnt see this coming.Afterward, Williams was again in a desolate mood. She refused to talk about losing her stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking to Germanys Angelique Kerber,?or blame a left knee injury that her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, revealed only after the match.Nonetheless, even Mouratoglou seemed frustrated with her. Noting that Williams sandwiched losing two Slam finals and an early exit at the Rio Olympics around her Wimbledon win in July that tied her with Steffi Grafs open-era record of 22 majors, Mouratoglou told CNN that overall Williams had a bad year.And that was even before her Singapore withdraw on the heels of scratching from the Wuhan Open and China Open.Williams final 2016 ledger thus slams shut with just eight tournaments and 44 matches played -- her lowest totals since a foot injury, then a pulmonary embolism, truncated her appearances in 2010 and 11. Her hold on the world No. 1 ranking snapped at a record-tying 186 consecutive weeks.Williams year always seemed more like a series of cameos than a campaign in which she moved in lockstep with the tour, even before she scratched Singapore off the schedule.It will take a vantage point more distant than this to know if Williams has indeed lost her edge physically, or if injuries alone contributed to her vulnerability.But the last time we saw her, at the US Open news conference following the Pliskova loss, she actually made one of the most forceful defenses of her desire in a long, long time. It happened when a reporter tried to give Williams an out, and suggested it was tough having to play her quarterfinal and semifinal matches on back-to-back days.Williams only grew more aggravated, not less.OK, Im not going to repeat myself, OK? she said. I wasnt tired from yesterdays match. Im a professional player. Ive been playing for over 20 years. If I cant turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldnt be on tour. ... Fatigue had absolutely nothing to do with it.If I was tired, I should definitely get into a new career.The flash of anger and defense of her professionalism were good to see.Williams might indeed be unable to be as consistently spectacular as she once was given the 20 years of tour miles on her shoulders and knees and legs. She now loses to players who couldnt touch her in the past. Some of them have even publicly said her aura of invincibility is fading.Drama will always follow Williams. Its just who she is. But she has promised to come back as determined as ever in 2017. She has done it before, and she can do it again.Anyone who doubts it just hasnt been paying close enough attention. Joe Federspiel Jersey . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? 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