"I think us players are really focused on the tennis more than anything else,'' said Williams, who is in the Middle East for the WTA Tour's season-ending event, the $4.55 million Sony Ericsson Championships. "I don't think anyone else is too focused on any other outside issue. We've been hosted very well, and that's pretty much it.''
Two years ago, Williams volunteered to promote gender equality and women's empowerment as part of a program fashioned by the WTA Tour and UNESCO. Funds were provided for mentoring, scholarship and fellowship programs, and women's tennis great Billie Jean King lent her support.
Women have fewer opportunities than men in sports and other fields in Qatar, which sent an all-male team to the Beijing Olympic this year. Saudi Arabia did the same, but several Arab countries that formerly excluded women relented - including Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates.
Williams, who has been among the most vocal proponents of equal prize money for men and women in professional tennis, said Monday that the top eight women had not arrived in Qatar primarily to change perceptions about women.
"I think every country has their way of doing things. I don't think it's really our job to come here and tell everyone how to do things and to change mindsets,'' said Williams, who faces world No. 2 Dinara Safina in round-robin play Tuesday. "We are here to play great tennis and to be a good role model and as women to be entertainment. Anything else might be a little bit beyond our reach and influence.''
The younger Williams sister, Serena, is also a contender in Qatar. The U.S. Open champion said she had not met many women since her arrival.
"I can't sit here and comment on exactly the hardships of the female that happens in Qatar. I've heard some things I should say, rather, of females that happens in the Middle East,'' Serena said at a news conference. She sat on a stage flanked by glossy banners with images of the elite group playing in Doha, their poses and makeup as reminiscent of fashion models as tennis players.
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