Serena Williams made a good start of the season, beating Naomi Osaka in Adelaide and scoring three wins at the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne to reach the semis.
Nonetheless, the 23-time Major champion couldn't play against world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty, struggling with a shoulder injury and deciding to withdraw and risk nothing ahead of the
Australian Open.
Serena said she feels good ahead of her first Australian Open clash against Laura Siegemund, keeping everything under control and foillowing her condition.
"I feel pretty good; I've gotten a lot of treatment on my shoulder, but I'm super confident it's going to be great. I'm feeling very confident, getting ready for hopefully the next two weeks. It's something that I'm going to have to deal with for the fortnight and knowing that going into the tournament helped. Also, I know that I probably have to pick up some different therapy exercises after each match; it will be important. I was thinking about more or less how I was feeling; I think at my age and this stage of my career, I try to go on how I'm feeling physically and not put myself in a bad position in general for my health," Serena Williams said.