Dubai: Former world number one Venus Williams suffered her 16th consecutive singles defeat after losing to an opponent 28 years her junior at the Guangzhou Open.
The 46-year-old American, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Austria’s 18-year-old Lilli Tagger on Tuesday.
The age difference between the pair is the largest in a WTA match this decade and ranks among the biggest seen in the history of the professional tour.
Williams, currently ranked 599th in the world, has not recorded a victory since July 2025 and has continued competing at WTA events through wildcard invitations.
Her latest loss is likely to reignite the discussion surrounding whether she should continue to receive them.
Critics believe wildcard places could be better used to give emerging players opportunities to progress, while tournament organisers recognise the appeal of bringing one of the sport’s most celebrated figures to their events.
In Guangzhou, the crowd made it clear they were delighted to watch Williams in action. A large and vocal audience cheered her throughout before giving the American a standing ovation as she left the court.
Williams had already claimed six of her seven major singles titles, alongside 30 other WTA tournament victories, before Tagger was born in February 2008.
Interestingly, Tagger’s coach is Francesca Schiavone, the former Italian world number four who won the 2010 French Open. Schiavone is the same age as Williams and lost all eight of her career meetings against the American.
“I was super excited when I saw the draw, but also a little nervous because I have so much respect for her,” Tagger said.
“It is funny she used to play with my coach. I would love to play at this age - I want to congratulate her.”
Although the result will provide further ammunition for those questioning Williams’ continued presence on tour, Tagger was still required to produce a strong performance against the experienced American.
The teenager, who won the French Open girls’ title in 2025 and is regarded as a promising future star, dominated behind her serve. She surrendered only seven points on serve and did not face a single break point, while matching Williams’ power from the baseline with impressive groundstrokes from both sides.
Tagger broke Williams twice in each set, taking early leads of 1-0 before breaking again to move 5-2 ahead. Both sets followed a remarkably similar pattern.
Williams showed flashes of her trademark power on serve and battled hard when under pressure, saving 12 of the 16 break points she faced. Her competitive determination remained evident throughout.
However, the defeat offered another indication of the challenge facing the veteran as she attempts to compete against the younger generation on the WTA Tour.