Rome, May 15 (IANS): World's No.1 women's tennis player Serena Williams has announced her withdrawal from the Rome Masters due to an elbow injury.

"We have to make the right decisions for the future, not for now. You know I hate, hate quitting, and this isn't quitting, it's just making a good decision," Williams said on Thursday, the defending champion of the tournament, reports Efe.

Williams was set to meet her compatriot Christina McHale after eliminating Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in her last match.

"I wasn't serving my best or my hardest," Williams explained in reference to her loss in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, adding that she has "learned from some things in the past."

"I think it was a mature decision for me. If I continue to play it could not only hurt my chances for Roland Garros but maybe for Wimbledon," she added.

Serena's loss in Madrid's semi-finals is the only defeat suffered by the American so far this year.