An interview with:
SERENA WILLIAMS

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, now joining us we have the world No. 3 ranked
player, Serena Williams. She has a 43-7 win/loss record this year. She won
three straight tournaments in the spring. Her best run since 2003. She claimed
her ninth Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open. In doubles she won her ninth Grand
Slam doubles title at Wimbledon, and her second Olympic gold with her sister,
Venus. Returning to the No. 1 ranking in September, five years and one month
after she last held it, breaking the previous record held by Andre Agassi.
Making her fifth appearance at the Sony Ericsson Championships, I introduce
Serena Williams. Questions in English only, please.

Q. Can you put this tournament in perspective of the whole year and how
important it is for you and for tennis, given what you've achieved this
year?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I would love to do well here. This would be a great time
to end the year winning the end of the year championships.

Q. How does it compare with say a Grand Slam or becoming No. 1, for instance?
Does it have an importance which you might rank along with that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, every tournament has its ups and this is the tournament
that the WTA puts on and offers the most prize money for women, so, obviously,
it isextremely important. Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to have a
chance to win the championship, so hopefully, this will be another one of my
years.

Q. When you played in Europe your last tournament you had a problem with your
knee if I remember right. What did you do to feel better, and how do you feel
right now?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I've just been working every day since then. I feel
great now. Hopefully, I'll continue to feel well for a while. Just end the year
on a positive note.

Q. We know Jelena's going to finish the year No. 1, but who is the player of
the year?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, that's a good question. I don't know if you go by slams
or by tournaments won. I think both of them have to be factored in. Ana got
finals and won a slam as well as I did. I think she won a few tournaments. I
don't know, it also goes a little bit on consistency. I've been pretty
consistent this year, so I don't know. I just know I'm excited to be playing
and competing.

Q. If you played a couple more tournaments, it might be you?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, it might be. But like I said, I'm excited to be doing
well in general and competing. Is this a tennis court?

Q. You've been to the championships and you've come close to winning a couple
of times. Where does this rank as far as a career goal since you've won pretty
much everything else, it's the only thing that's allude eluded you so far?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I would love to win here. It would be great. I haven't won
here in a couple of years, so that will be really nice. Where does it rank?
I mean, it's up there. I need the money (laughing).

Q. I think Larry Scott suggested that one of the significant factors about
this tournament was that top level women are appearing in a part of the world
and allowing women to aspire to achieve more than they do in other parts of the
globe. Is that something you feel yourself and have you at any time been able
to see or meet with Qatari women?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I have not been able to meet many women here, and I can't
sit here and comment on exactly the hardships of the female that happens in
Qatar. I've heard some things I should say, rather, of females that happens
in the Middle East.
But seeing what our country is going through right now
having an opportunity to have a female as a vice president, and having an
opportunity to have a female as a president, obviously myself for once, not
for once, but have always been supporter of the betterment of women in general.
So I would like to just continue to see it grow around the globe. Where would
we be without women?

Q. Where would you put your own fitness at the moment and your level of
confidence?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm really fit right now, so I'm feeling really good.

Q. And confident?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Confidence? I have a lot of confidence right now. I've been
playing well, so. I just think it's going to boil down to who can just do
best at the right points.

Q. A couple of weeks ago I went to your website and I saw a very funny picture
of you doing some surfing in Hawaii. Was that the first time?

SERENA WILLIAMS: No, I used to be a surfer, and it started interfering with
my career because I kept wiping out and getting injured, so.I used to surf all
the time when I was like 15 and 16 and 17, so, yeah. It was like riding a
bike though. It came right back to me.

Q. You've been in the top of the game a long time. But can you look beyond
the two of you at U.S. players, it's a little bit bleak. I mean, Lindsay
Davenport's in the Top 40, and she's 32, a mother. No one else under 23 in the
top 100. So USTA is making big changes, you know, Patrick McEnroe came in to
head up league development. What do you think needs to be done? Why is there no
one coming up after you guys?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I can't answer that. I think Venus and I set
a good example for a lot of players. Maybe there is someone coming up that we
don't know about in the United States that just hasn't gotten the attention
yet.But I don't know, maybe they should just have somebody in the inner city
programs and just develop some inner city kids.

Q. Do you think the USTA hasn't reached out enough?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I can't answer that.

Q. Do you think that the academy is the way to go in the U.S.? You guys spent
a little bit of time in the academies and played a lot of junior tennis?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I think the best way to go in tennis is to have the
support of a parental unit. And if you look at pretty much every player that's
been No. 1 or ranked No. 1 in the past like Steffi Graf and Monica Seles,
all these great players, have had some sort of really strong parental unit
behind them.
I think that that takes so much dedication that only your parents can give you.
I think that's the best way to do it.

Q. To find out the quality of the top players, each one has a different
quality. Are you able to say to us the fault of each one? The biggest fault of
Serena Williams is which one on the court?

SERENA WILLIAMS: The biggest fault?

Q. Yeah, fault?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm not telling you. You have.

Q. You have no fault?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I'm not telling you my faults. Maybe one day in 20 years.

Q. I've heard discussions about the road map are still going on here today. Is
it possible for you to talk about the road map and the way it's been presented
so far and what you feel is best for you in terms of the scheduling issues next
year? Is it possible to talk about that?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I think the road map is working out. You know, it's such
a big change for the tour because we've had so many for so long we've had these
tournaments. Now we have some more tournaments that are going to be bigger and
really going to promote women's tennis. Now the players have to support those
tournaments.
So the road map actually works out perfect for me, because I don't
have to compete with players playing 32 tournaments a year. It's more logical.

Q. So you welcome in the way it's been presented so far?

SERENA WILLIAMS: There are some -- it hasn't completely been ironed out so to
say. And you have to expect some kinks in a new product. Like when you're
delivering anything new, there are going to be some kinks that have to be
worked out. Those kinks, hopefully, are going to be worked out and hopefully
they can be worked out.

Q. What are the other factors that might influence the amount that you yourself
might participate next year with these issues? Are there any other issues that
will affect how many tournaments you play?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know. Like I said, there's a lot of things that
need to be worked out to make sure that I'm a very fair person. I think every
player should be happy. It's impossible to make everyone happy. But for the
most part, you have to make at least the top players that are driving the road
map, you need to definitely make sure everyone agrees to all the points. I
think there are some things that aren't quite working out that I have a little
question about, and hopefully they'll be able to be worked out.

Q. Given your close to the end of your career, what do you most want to change
in the time you have left in the game?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I didn't hear you.

Q. What do you most want to achieve in the time that you have left in tennis?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I don't know. I've so much I want to do. So hopefully I'll
keep doing it.

Q. No particular title or record that's driving you?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Well, I don't think I can necessarily catch up with Martina
Navratilova so I kind of gave up on that one years ago, so...