SERENA WILLIAMS’S decision not to defend her Australian Open title four months after giving birth to her first child had nothing to do with merely being able to play at Melbourne Park, she revealed today.

The seven-time Australian Open champion confirmed that she wouldn’t attempt to defend the title she won here last year, saying she wasn’t convinced she could win it.

Williams played in an exhibition tournament last weekend in Abu Dhabi to test her match condition and indicated after her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko that she might not travel to Melbourne.