Video: Serena Speaks to Indian Wells Crowd After Withdrawal

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Video: Serena Speaks to Indian Wells Crowd After Withdrawal

World No. 1 Serena Williams withdrew due to a knee injury from her scheduled Friday night semifinal at the BNP Paribas Open.

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Williams was to play No. 3 seed Simona Halep who advanced with a walkover. Halep will face Jelena Jankovic in Sunday's final.

The top seed told the crowd that she suffered a knee injury at the start of the event during a practice session. Despite Williams' efforts to get better, including receiving an injection for inflammation, she decided she could not play.

"I have done everything," Williams told reporters later. "Like I have just pretty much done everything from taping to research and I even did an injection. I have never done an injection before. I think if this was any other event I probably wouldn't have considered it. I wanted to give 200%. It just wasn't meant to be this year."

Williams said that she just needs extra time for the inflammation to end. But she is hopeful that she will be able to compete in Miami next week where she is defending champion.

"If I'm still in pain, obviously I'm not going to play, but I still am hopeful, as I am defending champion there. So obviously I want to do the best that I can, but right now I'm just focused on, you know, here and just staying positive for this."

Williams ended a 14-year absence from Indian Wells and was happy she made it into the semifinals. Despite the unexpected end to her tournament this year, she emphasized how inspired she was from the overall response on her return to the event.

"Yeah, it's been incredibly inspiring not just for me, but for everyone in general. And for sport," Williams said on her reception.

When asked if she would be back next year, Williams immediately responded with a smile, "I think it's going to be a must. I think it's going to be a must."

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