INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA (WOMEN)

May 16, 2008

Serena Williams

ROME, ITALY

THE MODERATOR: Unfortunately, Serena has had to pull out with a back injury.
She tried everything possible to get on the court, and made a decision at the
last minute. She's going to go to the hospital and have an exam very quickly,
so let's keep this as short as possible.
Questions.

Q. When did you realize that you couldn't play?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Just like two minutes before the match, because I was really
trying to wait until the last possible minute.

Q. How exactly did the injury occur?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I was -- it just happened all of a sudden in practice. I
just went for a shot and then my back got a little stuck, so that's basically
how it happened.

Q. What are your plans now?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, no, I'm just going to keep training for Roland Garros
and, you know, get ready for that.
Because I'm in really good form, so I'm going to be going in there with a
couple wins under my belt.

Q. We have seen so many injuries and so many retirements this year. Do you
think it's the wrong moment of the season or wrong moment of tennis?
SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely don't think it's a bad moment of the season. I
think, if anything, maybe it's the air in Italy this year, so...

Q. Did you feel any pain in the last match?
SERENA WILLIAMS: Nope. I didn't feel anything the last match, and I don't
expect this to cause any problems with my preparation for the French.
It just happened, you know, all of a sudden. I feel like I'm going to be good
going into Roland Garros.

End of FastScripts