Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Wuhan and China Opens due to a persistent shoulder injury and is targeting a return to action in next month’s WTA Finals in Singapore, the world number two said on Friday.
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Her recent defeat by Karolina Pliskova at the US Open ended Williams’ 186-week run as world number one.
However, the American has opted out of the first two of her three scheduled appearances, next week’s Wuhan Open and the China Open, in the hope of being fit for the season finale, the WTA Finals, at the end of October.
This post was syndicated from Punch Newspapers.
Shoulder problems hampered her in Rio, where her hopes of a fifth Olympic gold medal were crushed in the third round by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
She said: “I am focused on getting ready to compete at the WTA Finals in Singapore”.
Since losing in New York, Williams has been active, showing a line at New York Fashion Week and holidaying in France before attending the dedication of a tennis academy in Nice founded by her French coach.
In 2015, the emotional anguish of a semi-final exit – which denied her a rare calendar-year grand slam – also saw her cut short her season after the US Open.
The 22-time grand slam victor is skipping Wuhan – which begins next week – and Beijing with a shoulder injury but said she hopes to come back in time for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore in late October.
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She missed the season finale past year, but has won it five times in nine appearances.
