Serena Williams Pulls Out of Two Events

By ESPN

It will be at least a few more weeks before Serena Williams returns to the tour.

Still bothered by a shoulder injury that plagued her during the Rio Olympics and the US Open, the world No. 2 pulled out of the Wuhan Open and China Open, the two biggest events left on the WTA schedule before the WTA Finals in late October.

Earlier this week, Williams, who will be 35 in three days, told CNN she was "tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses I would never lose."

Two weeks ago, Williams suffered a surprising straight-sets loss against Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semifinals. The setback cost Williams a shot at breaking the Open era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she currently shares with Steffi Graf, as well as the world No. 1 ranking.

By Williams' standards, it has been a disappointing year. Although she reached the Australian and French Open finals and captured the Wimbledon title, she has played only eight tournaments and won only two.

A year ago, Williams was on the cusp of an historic season Grand Slam before falling to Roberta Vinci in the US Open semifinals. Physically and mentally ailing after that loss, Williams withdrew for the year.