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 streak in singles to 16 matches. The 18-year-old Austrian did not face a break point against the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, according to BBC Sport's report from the tournament.

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Williams, 46, has now lost all 13 of her singles matches in 2026 and has not recorded a victory since July 2025. Ranked 599th, the American has been relying on wildcards to enter WTA events. Tagger, ranked 53rd, secured the win in straight sets against an opponent 28 years her senior.

Tagger's serve was central to the result. She conceded only seven points across her service games, denying Williams any opportunity to break. The 2025 French Open girls' champion also found the same route through each set on return, breaking for leads of 1-0 and 5-2 as both sets followed a similar pattern.

Williams resisted repeatedly on her own serve, saving 12 of the 16 break points she faced. Those efforts limited the number of breaks conceded to four, but she could not offset them against Tagger's delivery. BBC Sport reported that an enthusiastic Guangzhou crowd encouraged Williams during the match and gave her a large ovation afterwards.

The age difference was the largest between opponents in a WTA match this decade and among the biggest in tour-level history, the BBC reported. Williams had already won six of her seven major singles titles, as well as 30 WTA tournaments, before Tagger was born in February 2008.

There was another connection between the generations through Tagger's coach, Francesca Schiavone. The Italian, who won the 2010 French Open and reached a career-high ranking of fourth, is the same age as Williams. During her own playing career, Schiavone faced Williams eight times and lost every meeting.

Tagger said she had felt both excitement and nerves on seeing the draw, expressing respect for Williams and acknowledging her former matches against Schiavone. She also said she would like to continue playing at Williams' age. On court, however, it was the teenager's protection of her serve that left Williams without a foothold in the result.