Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week\u2019s China Open, bringing to an end her 2018 campaign.<\/p>\n
Having returned to the tour in March after a 14-month layoff following the birth of her first child, the 23-time Grand Slam champion endured a rollercoaster 2018 that saw the American reach two Grand Slam finals.<\/p>\n
Williams made her comeback to the WTA circuit at Indian Wells where her sister Venus got the better of her in the third round. It was evident that Serena\u2019s game wasn\u2019t where it needed to be to challenge the best in the world and to her own admission, she knew she had a long way to go in order to find her best form.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot to improve on, it\u2019s good that I don\u2019t have to say that this is the best tennis I have ever played and I lost. My room for improvement is incredible,\u201d she said following her loss to Venus<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I have just got to keep saying each tournament my goal is just to be better than the last. I definitely don\u2019t want to go backwards. I just want to continue to go forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n The Miami Open was Serena\u2019s next stop – a tournament that she has won on eight occasions but unfortunately for her she was about to run into the hottest player on tour at that time in Japan\u2019s Naomi Osaka.<\/p>\n Osaka was coming off her incredible title win at Indian Wells the week prior and on this occasion she comfortably beat her idol Serena 6-3 6-2 in the first round. These two would meet again later in the season where the stakes would be even higher.<\/p>\n Opting not to play any tournaments on the road to the French Open<\/a>, Serena took to Philippe Chatrier court and turned heads by debuting her Black Panther-inspired bodysuit. \u201cI always wanted to be a superhero and it\u2019s kind of my way of being a superhero,\u201d Serena said<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the court, Serena was scheduled to face rival Maria Sharapova in a much-anticipated fourth round encounter but was forced to withdraw before their clash due to a pectoral injury.<\/p>\n French\u00a0Tennis\u00a0Federation president Bernard Giudicelli announced in August that Serena was banned from wearing her bodysuit at the French Open due to new dress code rules.<\/p>\n Going for her seventh title at Wimbledon<\/a>, Serena\u2019s game came together on the hallowed grounds of SW19. Brushing the likes of Kristina Mladenovic, Camila Giorgi, and Julia Goerges\u00a0en route to her 10th<\/sup> Wimbledon final, the final hurdle proved a step too far for Serena as she was powerless to the outstanding performance of German Angelique Kerber.<\/p>\n The German claimed her first Wimbledon title by defeating Serena in straight sets 6-3 6-3. Serena would remain on 23 Grand Slam titles, one short of the all-time record of Margaret Court.<\/p>\n “It is obviously a disappointment but I can’t be disappointed. I’m literally getting started,” Serena said following the defeat to Kerber<\/a>.<\/p>\n “To the other mums out there I was playing for you today and I tried. But Angelique played really well. I look forward to continuing to be out there and do what I do best.”<\/p>\n Back on American hard courts, Serena suffered the worst defeat of her career<\/a> at the hands of Britain\u2019s Jo Konta in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic. Making a total of 25 unforced errors, Serena was destroyed by Konta 6-1 6-0 in just under an hour.<\/p>\n It was later revealed that prior to her second round meeting with Konta, Serena was informed that the man convicted of killing her half-sister in 2003\u00a0had been released on parole.<\/p>\n In a contender for match of the year, Serena was beaten 6-3 2-6 6-3 by Petra Kvitova in a highly competitive three-set battle in the second round at Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Serena went into the final Grand Slam event of the year at the US Open<\/a> aiming to equal Margaret Court\u2019s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles once again.<\/p>\n Serena was seeded #17 for the US open – nine spots higher than her ranking of No. 26 at the time. She would get revenge on her sister Venus in the third round in comprehensive fashion 6-1 6-2 under the New York lights.<\/p>\n In the quarters, Serena navigated her way past the ever-dangerous big serving Czech, Karolina Pliskova, before booking her spot in her 9th<\/sup> US Open final by defeating Anastasija Sevastova\u00a0in the semi-finals. Serena was once again one match away from history.<\/p>\n Playing in her first Grand Slam final, Naomi Osaka was bidding to become Japan\u2019s first ever Grand Slam singles champion and was once again staring across the court to her idol that was also chasing history of her own.<\/p>\n