Serena Williams will not take part in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in late October due to a “troublesome shoulder injury,” according to a statement released by Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
“The 35-year-old 22-time Grand Slam champion made the announcement late on Sunday after missing all of the Asian Swing due to that same issue; shoulder problems also kept her out of the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open earlier in the summer,” the statement said.
Serena Williams had been ranked second on the ladder in advance of the tournament, held in Singapore, behind German Angelique Kerber.
“It’s been a really tough year for me. I’ve been dealing so much with these shoulder injuries. My doctor insists that I stay home and heal it… so I can have a chance to play next year,” Williams said in a video message to the people of Singapore posted to the WTA website.
The shoulder injury has troubled Williams over the past few months, on top of a knee injury she sustained at the US Open, where she was beaten by Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals.
In September, Williams told CNN she was hoping to make the Singapore tournament despite withdrawing from both the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the China Open in the same month over health concerns.
She also withdrew from the WTA Finals in 2015, saying at the time that she needed to address her health.
