Serena Williams Loses Shot at WTA Finals Due to Shoulder Injury

Serena Williams, the 22-time grand slam champion will pass up another WTA Finals in late October because of her prominent shoulder injury. This means, she will be missing out on the year-end prestigious event for two consecutive years.

The shoulder injury appears to torment the former grand slam champion since she also failed to participate in the entire Asian swing. She also struggled with the injury in the second half of the game season.

She posted a message on WTA’s website saying, “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.”

Plagued by Health Concerns

The 35-year-old tennis star withdrew from two other significant events, the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open and the China Open last September because of her injuries.

In September, Williams suffered a loss due to a knee injury. The injury hampered her chances of winning at the US Open against the Czech’s tennis player, Karolina Pliskova in the semifinal match. She told CNN that she was eager to join the Singapore tournament despite her health issues. In 2015, she retreated from the WTA Finals and the US Open to “address her health”.

However, in July she won another grand slam title at Wimbledon, matching the record of Steffi Graf’s Open Era record.

Sadly, she lost two grand slam finals. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou said it was a “bad” season for Williams.

Kerber takes Williams’ place

Williams now out of the Singapore season event, means the German tennis player, Angelique Kerber would rank as number 1. Kerber took Williams spot after winning the US Open making headlines in Singapore as she nudges a rank in the tennis world. She broke Williams’s record for having a 186-week lead control in the world rankings.

With one place remaining in the ranking, the race for the world’s ranking will be challenged by Johanna Konta, Svetlana Kuznetsova or Carla Suarez Navarro.

Williams is anticipated to join the 2017 Australian Open in Auckland this January for the first grand slam of the season.

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