Serena pulls out of China tour

Aims to return at season finale in Singapore

Serena Williams announced Friday that she has pulled out of two forthcoming tournaments in China, citing an ongoing shoulder injury.

“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete at the Wuhan Open or the China Open due to continuing issues with my right shoulder,” Williams said in a statement. “I have been practicing and playing but my shoulder is still not fit for tournament play.”

Williams has not been seen on court since the US Open earlier this month, where she was knocked out by Czech Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals and lost her long-held position as world No.1 to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.

Williams, 34, also withdrew from two tournaments with a shoulder injury in July, after successfully defending her title at Wimbledon.

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.

But it was a sore left knee that she mentioned as a reason for her ousting at Flushing Meadows – the second consecutive year the sixtime US Open champion had been knocked out in the semis.

Williams’ chances of reclaiming the world No.1 spot – which she held for 186 consecutive weeks, 309 weeks in total – before the end of the season have now significantly diminished. Meanwhile, Kerber – who is due to play both Wuhan and in Beijing – looks set to cap a glittering year at the top of the rankings.

The German, 28, reached her first Grand Slam final in Australia at the beginning of the year – and won it.

She also made it to the final at Wimbledon, but lost to Williams, before taking her second Grand Slam crown – and the top world ranking – at the US Open.

The rest of the veteran American’s season was already in doubt as she left Flushing Meadows.

She said then that left knee problems had affected her game – as much mentally as physically – and she wasn’t sure about her schedule for the rest of the year.

In 2015, the emotional anguish of a semifinal exit – which denied her a rare calendar-year Grand Slam – also saw her cut short her season after the US Open.

Williams has made no secret that her priority is winning Grand Slams – she has 22 trophies to her name, a record she shares with Steffi Graff.

To that end, she has played only eight tournaments this year – to Kerber’s 20 – hoping to keep herself injury-free for the Slams.

But Williams said Friday she is aiming to return to court for the yearending WTA Finals in Singapore at the end of October. She missed the season finale last year but has won it five times in nine appearances.