Venus Williams has suffered her 16th consecutive defeat on the WTA Tour after losing to Austrian teenager Lilli Tagger at the Guangzhou Open on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by the world No. 53, leaving her with a 0-13 record in singles matches this year as she continues her comeback following a retirement U-turn.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, has slipped to world No. 599 after a difficult run of results. Her latest defeat came in her first singles appearance since the US Open, where she lost in the first round to Sofia Kenin.

The American last won a singles match at the 2025 DC Open, defeating Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4, before losing to fifth seed Magdalena Frech in the following round.

Her wait for a singles victory at a Grand Slam tournament has been even longer. Williams has not won a match at a major since Wimbledon in 2021, when she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in the first round before losing to Ons Jabeur in the second.

While Williams continues to struggle in singles, she has enjoyed more encouraging results in doubles at the Guangzhou Open.

Partnering with Janice Tjen, the tennis legend secured a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Ekaterine Gorgodze and Kimberly Zimmerman to advance in the tournament. Williams and Tjen are due to face Lyudmyla Kichenok and Makoto Ninomiya in the quarterfinals on Wednesday as she looks to build on her doubles form.

Williams took a 12-month break in 2024 before making a surprise return at Indian Wells in 2025. Despite her struggles in singles, she has made it clear that winning is not her only priority as she continues her career.

Having dealt with numerous health issues over the years, Williams has expressed gratitude at being able to compete again and has pushed back against suggestions that she should retire. The former world No. 1 has argued that athletes should be able to make their own decisions about when to end their careers, rather than feeling pressured by outside expectations.

"I think people sometimes get too caught up in what an athlete is supposed to do, or when they're supposed to stop. There's this expectation that you reach a certain age, or your results change, and suddenly everyone else gets to decide that your time is over," Williams explained.

"Well, I've never really followed the crowd, have I? I've never lived my life according to what other people expected of me. I've always been my own person, I've always had my own mind, and I believe everyone is entitled to their own journey."