Former world number one Venus Williams, 46, suffered her 16th consecutive defeat, losing to Austria's Lilli Tagger at the Guangzhou Open. Tagger, 28 years Williams' junior, secured a straight-set victory, marking another milestone in Williams' challenging return to professional tennis.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, has struggled to recapture her former dominance on the WTA Tour. Despite showcasing her trademark competitive spirit and utilizing a powerful serve to fight off 12 of 16 break points, she was ultimately outclassed by the rising talent.
Lilli Tagger, the 2025 French Open girls' champion, displayed exceptional skill on serve, dropping only seven service points and facing no break points. She broke Williams' serve twice, establishing 1-0 and 5-2 leads in nearly identical sets. Tagger's coach, Francesca Schiavone, a former world number four and 2010 French Open winner, noted the generational connection, having lost all eight meetings with Williams during her own playing career.
The defeat underscores the widening gap between Williams and the current generation of tour players. While Williams' experience was evident, Tagger's precision and pace proved too much, cementing the American's status as a veteran facing the inevitable transition away from the sport's upper echelon.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing