The top female tennis player in the world, Serena Williams, has admitted that practicing has become boring for her as she strives to stay on top of her record-setting game.
Battling a bad back in recent weeks, ESPN reports Williams asked for a wild card entry into this week's Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in hopes of staying sharp and avoiding the monotony of having to deal with practice.
"My back finally started to feel better, but it wasn't better in time for me to play Doha at the level I'd like to play," Williams told ESPN. "So then it became more about what can I play next, and this was next on the calendar. It gets boring to have to practice every day. I was like, 'I don't want to practice anymore. I want to play a match.'"
She'll be doing more than just playing singles in Dubai and Serena plans on teaming with her sister Venus in doubles action.
"I think it's actually going to be good for me to go play singles and doubles because it will give me some more match play," Williams told ESPN. "I need to get used to the conditions and moving, so it's definitely helpful."
After a first-round bye, Williams will face Russian Alisa Kleybanova in her first match. In doubles, she and Venus will face second-seeded Russian mates pairing of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the opening round.
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