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Serena’s shoulder injury sees her skip S’pore again

SINGAPORE — United States superstar Serena Williams has withdrawn from the elite WTA Finals in Singapore, saying she is still working to recover from the shoulder troubles that hindered her in 2016.

Twenty-two time tennis Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has been struggling with a shoulder injury. Photo: Reuters

Twenty-two time tennis Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has been struggling with a shoulder injury. Photo: Reuters

SINGAPORE — United States superstar Serena Williams has withdrawn from the elite WTA Finals in Singapore, saying she is still working to recover from the shoulder troubles that hindered her in 2016.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced Williams’ withdrawal from the event that starts on Oct 23 on its Twitter feed, posting a video of Williams explaining the decision.

It will be the second straight year that Williams is skipping the season finale in Singapore due to injury. 

“Hey everyone in Singapore,” Williams said in the video. “I’m really, really bummed that I won’t be able to come compete this year. It’s been a really tough year for me just dealing so much with these shoulder injuries. My doctor insists that I stay home and heal it every single day.”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion earlier pulled out of two tournaments in China after being knocked out of the semi-finals of the US Open.

That defeat saw Williams’ 186-week reign atop the world rankings end as Germany’s Angelique Kerber reached the summit and captured the Flushing Meadows title into the bargain. Williams claimed just one Grand Slam title in 2016, at Wimbledon. After that, shoulder troubles hampered her in Rio where her hopes of a fifth Olympic gold medal were crushed in the third round.

Fans TODAY spoke to are disappointed to miss such a big name at the WTA Finals — especially at a time when Russian star Maria Sharapova is also absent because of a doping ban.

“It is a blow, and with women’s tennis, Serena (Williams) is a big draw and a personality for the game ... my daughter’s favourite player is Serena and she’s going to be devastated,” said banker Yeoh En Lai. “I think it will affect turnout based on how people are saying the big names are not coming.”

However, Yeoh said that his family will still be making their annual trip to the WTA Finals, as he added: “Tennis is bigger than one personality, we have been to the tournament every year since it started and we’ve never missed it. We all play tennis, so this is a good opportunity for us to be there to get a chance to watch the players in action.”

Football writer Kelvin Yap told TODAY that William’s no-show will not influence his decision to attend the year-end tournament. 

“I have not decided if I (will) go this year as it depends on my work schedule,” said the 27-year-old. “Serena and Maria’s absence is not a big factor as there are still a lot of good players who have risen in place of Serena. 

“She has been injury plagued this season so even if she comes, she won’t be at the top of her game.”

Tennis fan Sonali Sahney is also planning to buy tickets to the tournament, as she said: “Serena would have been a great crowd puller, but nonetheless, being able to watch the greatest eight in the world is still fantastic. It’s going to be a really competitive tournament and an enjoyable 10 days.”

WTA CEO Steve Simon said in a statement that organisers were “as disappointed as the fans”. 

“We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her back competing, fit and healthy,” he added. 

Williams’ withdrawal opens up the eighth qualification spot to Britain’s Johanna Konta, Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro and Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova. Either Navarro or Kuznetsova must win the title in Moscow at the VTB Kremlin Cup next week in order to edge out Konta for the eighth and final qualifying spot. 

The tournament in Singapore will see reigning champion Agnieszka Radwanska defending her title against current top seed Kerber. AFP

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