SINGAPORE, October 17, 2016
Serena Williams announced Monday, that she would be unable to play the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global due to a shoulder injury.
Like last year, Williams is going to end the season after falling in the semi-finals of the US-Open. In 2015, the 22-time major champion lost to Roberta Vinci, this year she was defeated by Karolina Pliskova. Consequently, Angelique Kerber will finish the season as world number one.
“I was looking forward to competing in Singapore this year and playing against the best players in the world,” the five time WTA Finals champion said.
“However, I have received disappointing news from my doctor that I must undergo a series of medical treatments for my shoulder, and will be off the court for the next several weeks. I will miss coming to Singapore for the year-end Finals and playing in front of my fans but truly hope to be back soon.”
BREAKING: @SerenaWilliams has withdrawn from #WTAFinals. This is her message to the fans. Get well soon Serena! pic.twitter.com/E9GfwjERc0
— WTA (@WTA) 17. Oktober 2016
Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova, Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Dominika Cibulkova have already qualified for the WTA Finals, which starts on October 23 and ends on October 30.
“The race now intensifies this week as players fight for the remaining berth,” says WTA CEO Steve Simon. With Serena Williams’ injury-induced absence from Singapore, Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova have a chance to catch Johanna Konta and qualify at this week’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
