Serena Williams: Practice is Boring

Serena Williams says she asked for a wildcard into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to combat boredom once she believed her back injury was on the mend.

"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," said Williams, in a pre-match media interview on Monday. "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."

The American has been sidelined with an aching back since losing a three-set, fourth-round match to Ana Ivanovic at the Australian Open last month.