LILLI TAGGER BEATS VENUS WILLIAMS AT GUANGZHOU OPEN

Lilli Tagger beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-2 at the Guangzhou Open on Tuesday, extending Williams’s run to 16 consecutive singles defeats. Tagger, an Austrian ranked 53rd in the world, faced Williams, a former world number one, for the first time. The match featured a 28-year age gap, the largest in a WTA match this decade. Williams, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, has not won a match since July 2025. She has lost every singles match she has played this year.

Williams won six of her Grand Slam singles titles and 30 WTA tournaments before Tagger was born in February 2008. Tagger’s coach, Francesca Schiavone, won the 2010 French Open and lost all eight of her matches against Williams during her playing career. Williams entered Guangzhou ranked 599th in the world and relies on wildcards to play WTA tournaments. Some people within tennis argue that those invitations take places from younger players, while tournament organisers value Williams’s ability to draw spectators. A sizeable crowd in Guangzhou encouraged Williams and applauded her as she left the court.

“When I saw the draw I was super excited and a bit nervous - I respect her a lot,” Tagger said. She noted that Williams had played against Schiavone, who is the same age as Williams. “I would love to play at this age - I want to congratulate her,” Tagger added. The result continues Williams’s winless singles run, while Tagger’s victory came against an opponent who had won major titles before she was born.