MELBOURNE, Australia — Time did not freeze, like a televised sporting event placed on pause, during the 13 months Serena Williams spent away from tennis. The absence of Williams, who has averaged one title in every three majors played, allowed younger players to wade deeper into the draws and grow their games and their confidence.

Karolina Pliskova, 26, was already on the rise when a pregnant Williams took her leave from tennis after winning the 2017 Australian Open. The previous year, Pliskova had graced the final of the United States Open, beating Williams on the way. But it was the only Grand Slam event where she advanced past the third round in 2016.

With Williams out of the picture from February 2017 to March 2018, the ascent of Pliskova continued apace. Advancing to the quarterfinals or better in 15 of 20 tournaments in 2017, Pliskova assumed the women’s world No. 1 ranking that July, two months after Williams’s last stay there.

In the eight majors contested since Williams’s last Grand Slam title, at the 2017 Australian Open, Pliskova has made it to the quarterfinals or better in five. With her 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 defeat of Williams on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday, Pliskova avenged a two-set quarterfinal loss to Williams at last year’s U.S. Open.