Serena Williams Says She Wouldn’t Have Played If It Were Not A Major

Written by: Staff on 23rd January 2012

Serena Williams Says She Wouldn't Have Played If It Were Not A Major

Serena Williams of the United States serves to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia in their fourth round match against at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 23 January 2012. Makarova won in two sets. EPA/BARBARA WALTON |

Serena Williams said she would have never bothered to play had it not been the Australian Open. But the five-time champion paid the price for her ankle injury recovery with a 6-2, 6-loss to Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round.

“I made 37 errors, that kind of tells the story of the match. It was definitely hot out there. I guess I just didn’t move the way I wanted to, I tried,” said Williams, who had won 41 of her previous 43 matches at the venue and titles in five of the past seven times she has actually played (dating to 2003).

But the 30-year-old refused to beat herself up due to the circumstances of the loss. “I always think about things that I can do better next time around. Usually I play myself into the tournament. But I usually don’t have a huge problem with an injury, so this is a completely different situation.”

Asked if she would have competed had it not been a major, Williams replied: “No, no way. I probably shouldn’t have played.”

Williams, who suffered a rolled ankle two weeks before the event, said she had not been at 100 percent during the major but refused to go into more detail.