Lilli Tagger beats Venus Williams in straight sets at Guangzhou Open

Lilli Tagger defeated Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 at the Guangzhou Open on Tuesday, extending the former world number one's losing run in singles to 16 matches. According to BBC Sport, the 18-year-old Austrian beat the 46-year-old American in a contest featuring the largest age difference between opponents in a WTA match this decade.

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Tagger controlled her service games throughout, conceding only seven points on serve and never facing a break point. The world number 53 also followed the same pattern in both sets when returning: she broke Williams to lead 1-0 and again to move 5-2 ahead. Those four breaks gave the teenager a straight-sets victory over the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.

Williams resisted on numerous other occasions, saving 12 of the 16 break points she faced. Her powerful serve helped her escape trouble, but she could not create a chance to break Tagger in return. BBC Sport reported that the Austrian dealt effectively with Williams' pace and struck forcefully from both sides, maintaining an advantage that the American was unable to overturn.

The result left Williams without a victory in any of her 13 singles matches in 2026. Ranked 599th, she has not won a singles match since July 2025 and depends on wildcards to enter WTA events. Despite the defeat, she received enthusiastic support in Guangzhou, where spectators encouraged her during the match and applauded warmly as she left the court.

Tagger, the 2025 French Open girls' champion, described feeling both excitement and nerves when she saw the draw. In comments reported by the BBC, she expressed respect for Williams and said she hoped she could still be playing at the same age. Williams had already won six major singles titles and 30 WTA tournaments before Tagger was born in February 2008.

There was another connection between generations through Tagger's coach, Francesca Schiavone. The Italian, a former world number four and the 2010 French Open champion, is the same age as Williams and lost all eight of their meetings during her own playing career. Tagger acknowledged that link after achieving a victory over an opponent her coach had never beaten.