Serena Williams still struggling against incredible odds in lopsided defeat to Johanna Konta

Serena Williams went out in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic against Johanna Konta, with just one game on the board, 6-1, 6-0, trying to defy the odds against mom tennis players, age and medical challenges.

It’s hard being a mom, but imagine playing a Grand Slam final just 10 months after giving birth.

That’s exactly what Serena Williams admirably did at Wimbledon just a few weeks ago, ultimately losing to Germany’s Angelique Kerber after playing a superb tournament.

The crushing defeat seems to have affected the legendary athlete, with Williams going out in the first round of the Silicon Valley tournament on Tuesday, her first tourney since Wimby.

After losing to Kerber in straight sets at the All England Club, she told the crowd that she would be back and “it was just the beginning,” demonstrating the resolve and fight she’s always been known for.

We realize she wants the comeback, but can she physically do it? If anyone in the sport can, Williams is the one. She’s dominated the women’s game for decades and she holds the record for most grand slams — men or women — in the Open Era. But like Andy Murray on the women’s side — also a known fighter — getting back to 100 percent fitness is a much harder road full of fits and starts.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal made it all look so easy last year. But Federer and Nadal didn’t have to give birth, much less deal with complications after the event. Williams — as well as her coach Patrick Mouratoglou — have admitted that tennis is no longer 100 percent of her focus. Of course not; she’s a mom!

But there were signs that she was building her way back up with progress at the French Open, defeating two top seeds along the way. She’s also back in the top 30 after dipping down as low as 451 after missing much of the season recuperating from a difficult delivery.

“I know I can play a zillion times better so that kind of helps out, too. I have so many things on my mind I don’t have time to be shocked about a loss that clearly wasn’t at my best right now,” Williams said after her defeat to Konta in California. “When I was out there, I was fighting. That’s the only thing I can say, I wasn’t just like giving it away and I was moving a lot better. So I’m just trying to take the positives out of it.”

But how much fight does the legend have left? There are only a handful of moms who have won a grand slam after giving birth. We know it’s amazing that she won her last slam while in her first trimester. But Williams has a more challenging and difficult road ahead than say Kim Clijsters, the last mom to win a grand slam. Clijsters is 35 now, Serena Williams is 36. Clijsters was just 27 when she won her last slam, having given birth to her first child the year before.

Certainly mounting a challenging comeback (if you can even call it that, giving birth is certainly different than going out with an injury) in your twenties is far different than your thirties, much less your late thirties.

Williams is fighting her way back into tennis after becoming a mom. Combine that with continuing to play at the age of 36, as one of the oldest players on tour. When you throw in the challenge of rallying back from health scares and surgery because of birth complications, you begin to understand the almost unsurmountable odds Serena Williams is facing.

But if there’s one thing that Williams has done, it’s defy the odds. Next up for the 23-time slam champion is a return to the Rogers Cup in Montreal, Canada, a tournament she has won three times.