'Injury-plagued' Serena withdraws from WTA Finals

World number two Serena Williams has pulled out of the elite WTA Finals in Singapore after failing to fully recover from the shoulder troubles that hindered her in 2016.

Confirming the news, the WTA posted a video of Serena explaining the decision to withdraw from the event, which starts on October 23.

"Hey everyone in Singapore. I'm really, really bummed that I won't be able to come compete this year. It's been a really tough year for me just dealing so much with these shoulder injuries. My doctor insists that I stay home and heal it every single day," Serena said in a video message.

It is for the second straight year that the American tennis star has pulled out of the season finale in Singapore due to an injury, Sport24 reported.

Having clinched just one Grand Slam title in 2016 at Wimbledon, Serena's shoulder injury also ended her hopes of sealing fifth Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.

Meanwhile, Serena reached the final of the Australian Open and the French Open, before suffering defeats at the hands of Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza respectively.

She also appeared to be struggling with a knee injury during her shocking semi-final loss to Czech star Karolina Pliskova at the US Open.

The defeat at the fourth and final major of the season also saw her being dethrone as the top-ranked women's player, which is now occupied by Kerber.