DUBAI DUTY FREE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS WOMEN

February 20, 2013

Serena Williams

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Can you explain what the injury is and when it occurred?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah.  I just have had a lot-- I've just had some back
problems the past couple weeks.  It didn't get better.  I thought it would
get better as the week went on, but it didn't.  I don't want to keep pushing
it and make it worse.

Q.  What happens now?  How serious is it?  Are you going to have to pull out
of other tournaments?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Well, my next tournament is actually in Miami.

Q.  So you have some time?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  I have a lot of time.  And I think that's good, to get back
and to get better.  I'll be fine.

Q.  Have you been having treatment here to try to get ready to play?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I have been having treatment here as well as in Doha,
and just the whole past two-and-a-half weeks.
But, yeah.  So it's getting better but it's not at a level where I can
compete where I feel comfortable to not make it worse.

Q.  I guess that's your concern is that if you get out there and have a tough
match you could aggravate it to the point where you'd have to take time off
or something like that?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Exactly.  I mean, words -- exactly what you just said.
So, for me, I don't want to do that, and I think it will be a wise move
actually not to do that.

Q.  Did Vika's withdrawal yesterday perhaps influence...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  No, not at all.

Q.  This is the second time, third time that you have been confirmed for this
tournament and it hasn't happened?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Isn't it?  I feel terrible.  I feel like that, so maybe
three times, and maybe the next time will be a better time.  Just horrible.

Q.  Seemed like last week the back never came up, but was that bothering you
as well in Doha?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, the whole time, as well as in Australia.

Q.  Because you injured it in Australia?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, exactly.  I had little to no time to get it better.
 So I'm just working on actually getting it better.  So I just had to go back
to back to back.  Yeah.

Q.  What kind of treatment will you be doing?  Anything with more rehab?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Just a lot of rehab stuff, a lot of flexibility stuff, a
lot, a lot of therapy and things of that nature.

Q.  You're confident by Miami you'll be...
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Oh, absolutely.  I have no choice.  So I figure like not
only by then but hopefully sooner than that so I can start getting a really
good training program going so I can get really, really fit and get ready for
some other tournaments hopefully this year.

Q.  There are a lot of younger girls like Vika, for example, are finding it
difficult to keep up with the schedule.  Being the oldest world No. 1 and
being of a similar age to Roger, do you think you need to be perhaps more
selective going forward?
SERENA WILLIAMS:  Yeah, I definitely think I will be more selective going
forward, you know, playing maybe less tournaments but really doing well like
I have tried to be in those events.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports