CHINA OPEN

October 1, 2016

Venus Williams

Beijing, China

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You haven't had the most success in this tournament the last several
years. Does that lead you to prepare any differently for a tournament like
this?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No. I think I've played so many tournaments in my life, you
just go in the same way, unless it's like a totally different surface or
something.

Q. This is your sixth time coming to Beijing. Could you have any different
feelings for this tournament or this city?
VENUS WILLIAMS: No, I enjoy it here. I have a good time. I have some friends,
too, so that makes it better, as well.

Q. Right now you are in the race to the WTA Finals, so will that be your goal
in the next stretch?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I guess. I mean, I've played a final. I've done pretty much
everything in my career. Were I to get there, it would be something I'd do
again. Were I not to, it would just be something I didn't do that year.
That's kind of how I look at it. There's no pressure or stress.

Q. For the last three years you've been China's different cities like Wuhan,
Beijing and Zhuhai. What kind of unique services they provide make you the
difference of the cities? Do you miss this kind of different characters of
these cities that makes it different?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, every city has different character. I think Beijing has
the most history out of all the cities that I've been to so far in China.
Makes it very special and unique.

Of course, there's so much pride and precision that the Chinese tournaments
are run in. They want to give the best to players. I feel that every single
time I come here, I get the best. People are happy that I'm here. I'm happy
I'm here. So it's all this good stuff.

Q. You are a tennis player, of course, but you have many other jobs to do,
like your own clothes brand. How do you allocate your time?
VENUS WILLIAMS: I work a lot. I actually work harder when I'm at home than
probably on tour, unless I'm playing singles and doubles in a tournament,
then I might work harder here.

I have a great team or great teams at home. I love what I do. That's the
perfect combination, I think.

Q. Before you came to Beijing, has Serena ever recommended to you some of the
famous Beijing food or places?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Like Beijing kao ya? I actually never had the Beijing kao ya,
but I know about it. I mean, I've gone and done so many different things that
I don't know if there's more left for me to do. Unless you have
recommendations, I think I've seen the whole city, a lot of the city.

Q. You've done it so many times, but now that we're nearing the end of the
calendar year, how was it jumping from time zone to time zone every single
week? Two weeks ago you were in New York, now you're in Beijing. How does
that affect your training and how you go into a match?
VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's not fun, but I know how to do it. It's not ideal,
but that's part of the job. So walk out on the court and hopefully you did
the right thing and you're not, like, in a coma out there.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports