Interviewer: Not long ago, our next guest became the first tennis player in 19 years to reach the US Open finals on her first attempt. Earlier tonight she was named the Women's Tennis Association's Newcomer of the Year. Here's the extremely talented Venus Williams!

(Crowd applauds)
(Band plays that song: "She got it!...Venus was her name!")
(Venus Williams walks out towards Interviewer wearing a long black velvet, sleeveless dress, black high heels, black shoulder wrap-around, small gold necklace, most of beads pulled back.)
(Interviewer shakes and kisses VW's hand, VW sits.)

Interviewer: You look very nice.

Venus Williams: Thank you.

I: Congratulations on being named Newcomer of the Year.

VW: Yea.

I: Does that mean anything to you?

VW: It means a lot to me, because it was one of my goals this year.

I: Uh huh.

VW: And I set that as a goal at the beginning of the year: to be the Newcomer of the Year on the WTA Tour, so it means a lot.

I: How old a guy are you now?

VW: (laughs) Come on. I just turned 17.

I: 17. So you're still a kid. (crowd applause) You're from California? Los Angeles? That area?

VW: Los Angeles. (crowd screams, VW waves)

I: Yea and since you've been playing tennis, you get to-- one of the nice things about it is you get to go all over the world. Have you literally been all over the world now?

VW: Generally. Somewhat, yes. I've been to just five foreign places. I've been to England, France, Moscow, Switzerland, Germany.

I: Coming to New York-- you must have really positive, positive feelings about New York, because of your success in the Open at the end of the summer. Do you like coming here?

VW: I like coming to New York.

DL: Yea, and people know you now because of the Open?

VW: Yes, people do a lot.

I: And how did you spend your day today?

VW: I went shopping.

I: You went shoppping? You're making a lot of money, aren't you?

VW: I give a lot of it to the government. (crowd, VW laugh)

I: So you can treat yourself to a little shopping trip every now and then?

VW: Yea, I go for a lot of jewelry. But you know, I had a small addiction, but I really have worked on it. (crowd, VW, I. laugh)

I: How's your dad doing?

VW: He's doing real well.

I: Is your dad right more often than not?

VW: Yes, always. (crowd, VW laugh)

I: What kinds of things do you do for fun when you're traveling?

VW: Besides shopping; all those things, Serena and I; we try different things. We tried everything.

I: You mentioned your sister? Is that who she is?

VW: Um Hm.

I: And she is younger than you by about

VW: She's a year and three months.

I: A year and three months. Yea. Now you, right now who would win if we set up a net on the street and you and your sister went at it? Who would win?

VW: Wow. Right now. Let me think. (crowd, VW laugh) Right now Serena's serve seems to be a little together more than mine. And she's hitting her groudstrokes. Right now I would have to say...well she's...yea, Serena.

I: No.

VW: Yea.

I: See now the answer is "I would crush her." (crowd, VW, I. laugh) That's the answer. The answer is supposed to be...

VW: No, I mean...

I: "I, I think the world of my little sister..."

VW: Yea, she's...

I: "I love her dearly, but I would crush her."(VW, I., crowd laugh)

VW: She's getting better.

I: Do you regard each other as athletic equals?

VW: Well, unless we're playing a match. (Crowd, VW laugh)

I: Yea. How long do you want to play professional tennis?

VW: I plan on playing until I'm about 25. I guess another eight years.

I: This is Venus Wiliams. She is the Women's Tennis Association's Newcomer of the Year. Great to meet you.

VW: Thanks.(I. shakes, kisses VW's hand.)

I: Good luck to you. (Band plays.)