Tennis News

World No.2 Serena Williams will not take part at BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global after receiving medical advice regarding a troublesome shoulder injury.

The 35-year-old 22-time Grand Slam champion made the announcement late on Sunday after missing all of the Asian Swing due to that same issue; shoulder problems also kept her out of the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open earlier in the summer.

“I was looking forward to competing in Singapore this year and playing against the best players in the world,” said Williams.

“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.”

Williams has participated in eight tournaments this season, winning two titles at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Wimbledon, where she tied Stefanie Graf for the Open Era record of Grand Slam titles. She also reached the finals of the Australian Open and French Open, and tied Graf for the all-time record of most consecutive weeks at World No.1, at 186 straight weeks.

“We’re as disappointed as the fans not to see Serena finish her season in Singapore,” says WTA CEO Steve Simon. “We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her back competing, fit and healthy.”

Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Karolina Pliskova and Garbiñe Muguruza, Madison Keys and Dominika Cibulkova have already qualified for the tournament, which starts on October 23 and ends on October 30.

DUBAI, UAE – Kateryna Bondarenko is through to the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after No.5 seed Garbiñe Muguruza was forced to withdraw due to a left achilles injury while trailing 4-1 in the opening set.

“It’s good that I’m through, but it wasn’t really a win,” Bonadarenko said after the match. “She retired.”

Muguruza suffered a shock defeat last week Doha to Zhang Shuai, and looked to be struggling with her timing early on, double faulting to hand her opponent the immediate break.

At the first changeover, Muguruza called for the physio but opted not to take an injury timeout before being broken again.

“When I finished in Doha, because of the rain, a lot of people played two matches, including me,” Muguruza explained. “The second one was very tough, and I remember that as soon as I went, after the match, to my room, I started to have a pain in my left Achilles.

“The next morning was even more painful. I have been carried this since that day. And here, I have been training but on and off, honestly, because of the pain. Some days it was a little bit better, some days it was a little bit worse. It was just hard for me to serve, especially, and to just move side to side today on the court.

A lack of mobility clearly apparent, Muguruza decided that the best way back into the match was to hit her way out of trouble. But with the score at 4-1 in the first set, she decided that it wasn’t worth continuing.

“I can’t see anything right now. I have to do some kind of MRI.

“Personally, I don’t think it’s like something big, hopefully, but it’s very irritated and it’s really bothering me every time I have to run on the court.”

.@GarbiMuguruza retires in the opening set.

Kateryna Bondarenko advances to @DDFTennis Round of 16. pic.twitter.com/zVW98VFLPo

— WTA (@WTA) February 21, 2017

Muguruza’s retirement means that Bondarenko, who has never been past the second round, will now face either Viktorija Golubic or Caroline Wozniacki.

Click here to learn more about Muguruza’s injury courtesy of WTA Insider.

DUBAI, UAE – Elina Svitolina made it through to her third quarterfinal of 2017 so far after a titanic tussle with Christina McHale.

The Ukrainian triumphed 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to set up a clash in the next round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with Lauren Davis.

“It was really tough today – I was in and out today mentally, I was a little bit losing my focus in the first set,” she said in her on-court interview after the match.

“In the end I was just trying to fight for every ball, and I think that’s why I won.”

.@ElinaSvitolina reaches third Quarterfinal of 2017!

Tops McHale 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at @DDFTennis! pic.twitter.com/0WdyLoSLVh

— WTA (@WTA) February 22, 2017

McHale pushed Svitolina right to the end, forcing her to serve for a match which lasted two hours and 22 minutes, and saving the first of three match points.

She could not delay the inevitable for too long, though, as the 22-year-old’s grit saw her through.

Svitolina was already thinking about her next opponent, the American Davis.

“I’ve played against her a couple of times…but it’s always going to be tough in any quarterfinal,” she said.