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The 34-year-old's last match was her shock loss to Italy's
Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals of the U.S. Open last month,
which ended her bid to become the first women in 27 years to win
all four grand slam titles in the same season.
The 21-times grand slam singles champion said she had been
carrying injuries throughout the campaign and the loss to Vinci
had taken its toll, adding she would not play again this year
after also pulling out of next week's China Open.
"My journey in tennis this year has been at times exhilarating,
at times disappointing," Williams said in a statement carried by
China Open organizers.
"I've played injured most of the year — whether it was my elbow,
my knee, or in the finals moments after a certain match in
Flushing, my heart.
"I’m a fierce competitor and I want to compete as well as I can,
for as long as I can.
"This is a very difficult decision, but one ultimately made
because of the love of the game."
After winning the Australian and French Open titles, Williams
became the earliest ever qualifier for the eight-woman
end-of-season finals when she won her third round match at
Wimbledon in July.
The American went on to win the grass court championships but
under the heavy weight of expectation she was unable to add the
U.S. Open title after she threw away a set lead against Vinci.
Recuperating for another tilt at adding to her major haul next
year is the obvious goal for Williams, who is three shy of
matching Australian Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam
singles titles and one off Steffi Graf.
However, her withdraw is a big blow to the organizers of the
Oct. 25-Nov. 1 WTA Finals, who are already sweating on the
fitness of world number three Maria Sharapova after the Russian
also pulled out of the China Open following a forearm injury in
Wuhan.
The two headline acts, along with Romania's Simona Halep, are
the only three qualifiers so far for the tournament, which will
be staged in Singapore for the second time as part of a
five-year deal with the WTA.
(Reporting by Patrick Johnston; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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