Story highlights
- Williams refuses to set comeback date
- 22-time slam winner has struggled with injury
(CNN)Serena Williams says she's sick and tired of playing top-level tennis while injured.
The 22-time grand slam champion lost her world No. 1 ranking to Angelique Kerber this month when she was dumped out of the US Open at the semifinal stage.
Williams has struggled with injury over the past year, with shoulder and knee problems increasing her frustration throughout the season.
And the American -- who turns 35 next week -- is refusing to put a date on a comeback, instead focusing on making sure she's close to full fitness before making a return.
Tired
Angelique Kerber wins US Open 01:28
"I'm tired of playing tournaments unhealthy and taking losses that I would never lose," Williams told CNN at the unveiling of her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou's new tennis academy near Nice.
"I definitely want to make sure I'm healthy and playing at my best or at least 80% healthy or 70% healthy -- that way I can be able to play at a higher level."
The knee injury appeared to play a significant part in Williams' shock defeat by Karolina Pliskova in the last four at Flushing Meadows.
While she refused to blame the injury for the loss, the result meant she managed to land just one grand slam title compared to the three she won a year earlier.
Williams has three tournaments scheduled for the rest of 2016: Two in China, then the season-ending WTA Championships in Singapore starting October 24. She missed the tour's Asian swing last year due to injuries.
Bad season
Mouratoglou offered a frank assessment of the problems his player -- who won Wimbledon to match Steffi Graf's slam tally after losing finals at the Australian and French Opens -- had faced over the past season.
Stan Wawrinka wins US Open 02:18
"We have to be honest -- it has been a bad season for her," he told CNN. "She's been injured a lot, which makes it worse because she couldn't play much.
"She played only eight tournaments, which is really, really, not much. For Serena, any result that is not a title is a bad result -- so a final of a grand slam is a bad result for her. We can't be satisfied with one grand slam final and two finals lost.
"It's a bad year, there are many explanations but we have to learn and be better next year and that is definitely the goal. This is not satisfying at all."
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Serena Williams has taken tennis fashion to new heights. In New York she wore a $500 black-and-brown one-shoulder silhouette dress with tulle skirt for her 2018 US Open debut.
Hide Caption
1 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Williams, playing her first home Slam since giving birth to her first child last year, entered the Arthur Ashe Stadium in a black bomber jacket with white trim.
Hide Caption
2 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Williams turned heads with her striking black catsuit in the first round of the 2018 French Open in Paris -- tournament organizers have since tightened dress codes for next year, meaning the catsuit will be consigned to the closet.
Hide Caption
3 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
The 23-time grand slam champion was playing in her first major since giving birth to her first child in September. "I feel like a warrior princess in it," she told reporters. " I'm always living in a fantasy world. I always wanted to be a superhero, and it's kind of my way of being a superhero."
Hide Caption
4 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
The 36-year-old American said the skintight suit also served a practical purpose after enduring a difficult childbirth. "I had a lot of problems with my blood clots. So there is definitely a little functionality to it," she said.
Hide Caption
5 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Williams sticks with black and pink during the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.
Hide Caption
6 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Serena attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California.
Hide Caption
7 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Serena enjoyed an astonishing 2015 season -- winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon. She missed the China Open and WTA finals after revealing she needed time to recover from a grueling year.
Hide Caption
8 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
At the beginning – Serena sports a beaded hairstyle as she celebrates her first U.S. Open title -- and her first major -- back in 1999.
Hide Caption
9 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Parisian style – Serena Williams poses on court after triumphing in the 2015 French Open final.
Hide Caption
10 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
In the pink – Serena blasts down a powerful serve on her way to another victory.
Hide Caption
11 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Height of fashion – In 1999, Williams enrolled at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in Florida to study fashion design. Here, she shows a collection of her designs at the 2012 Australian Open.
Hide Caption
12 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
If the cap fits... – Williams, the world's No. 1 player, serves during a training session ahead of the 2015 French Open in Paris.
Hide Caption
13 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Traditional values – Williams celebrated her sixth Wimbledon title in 2015, resplendent in the All England Club's traditional all-white attire. It meant she held all four grand slam titles, going back to the 2014 U.S. Open -- her second "Serena Slam."
Hide Caption
14 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
The cat's whiskers – Serena sported a catsuit when she played Corina Morariu during the 2002 U.S. Open. That title was the third leg of her first non-calendar "Serena Slam," which she completed months later at the 2003 Australian Open.
Hide Caption
15 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Making an entrance – Williams waves to the crowd as she enters stadium court before her match against Monica Niculescu of Romania at Indian Wells in 2015.
Hide Caption
16 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Glowing performance – In a neon yellow outfit, Serena celebrates against Eleni Daniilidou of Greece during the 2012 Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
Hide Caption
17 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Blue moment – Williams looks crestfallen as she reflects on a point that got away.
Hide Caption
18 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Suitable occasion – A more formally-attired Serena celebrates one of her six victories at the U.S. Open.
Hide Caption
19 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Black and white image – The Florida resident has triumphed at the US Open in New York six times.
Hide Caption
20 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Power play – With her hair -- which she once described as "super crazy" -- tied back, Serena blasts a shot in a match against Ana Ivanovic in Cincinnati.
Hide Caption
21 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Out of the shadows – Serena serves on a sunny day at Flushing Meadows, New York.
Hide Caption
22 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Up in the air – Williams celebrates after winning the Madrid Open final against Maria Sharapova in 2013.
Hide Caption
23 of 24
Photos: Serena Williams: Stylish superstar
Hair-raising – Serena sports a new style at the Australian Open in 2013.
Hide Caption
24 of 24
Looking back
While Mouratoglou was happy to discuss Williams' travails of the past 12 months, the world No. 2 was altogether more terse.
Asked about her reflections over the past season, Williams said: "Yeah I'm not talking about that so ..."
And questioned about regaining her world No. 1 spot from Kerber, she added: "I'm not talking about my career. If you want to talk about other things that's okay ..."
Williams was more forthcoming when asked about her fashion line which enjoyed a showing at New York Fashion Week.
Catwalk
She unveiled the Serena Williams Signature Statement fall collection, presented by HSN, last week, and says the business commitment has little effect on her tennis. And with a day's rest between matches at the US Open, Williams was able to keep one eye on her fashion line.
"It's easy for me because when I'm on the court I'm really, really focused," she added. "I'm playing every other day so I have plenty of time just to go through small things. I have a wonderful team that I work with and they really do a lot of the work.
"I think they get a little bit intimidated when I come in and change everything and say, 'It has to be this way.' So that's also really cool."
So what's more difficult -- playing at the US Open or planning a fashion show?
"I don't know," she said. "I think they are pretty equal. Fashion is probably a little easier I guess but at least in a grand slam I can control what happens.
"In a fashion show I can't necessary control what people may think of the garments you put so much work into."
