Venus Williams suffered her 16th consecutive singles defeat as the 46-year-old American icon was beaten by teenager Lilli Tagger in straight sets at the Guangzhou Open on Tuesday.
Austria’s Tagger, who is 28 years younger than the former world No. 1, eased to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in southern China.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, last won a singles match on the WTA Tour in July last year.
Now ranked 599th in the world, Williams last played at the US Open in August-September, when she lost in the first round in straight sets to Sofia Kenin.
Williams won her doubles match with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen in Guangzhou on Monday.
They will play again on Wednesday.
The 53rd-ranked Tagger faces Poland’s Magda Linette in the next round.
— AFP
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