Serena Williams withdraws from WTA Finals, China Open to heal injuries

Serena Williams will withdraw from the WTA Finals and the China Open, ending her 2015 campaign.

Serena Williams will withdraw from the WTA Finals and the China Open, ending her 2015 campaign, the Associated Press reports.

Williams said she wanted to take “a proactive step” toward properly healing after playing through injuries this year.

“It’s no secret I’ve played injured most of the year — whether it was my elbow, my knee, or, in the final moments after a certain match in Flushing, my heart,” Williams said, according to the China Open website. 

“This is a very difficult decision, but one ultimately made because of the love of the game,” she said.

Williams’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said earlier this week that he questioned her motivation to continue playing this year after suffering a heartbreaking surprise loss to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the U.S. Open semifinals. Had Williams won the U.S. Open, she would have completed a calendar-year Grand Slam after winning this year’s Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.

Maria Sharapova also withdrew from the China Open.

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- Erin Flynn