Serena Williams has only ever lost two matches in her five appearances at the China Open.
Williams is a two-time former champion in Beijing, having won titles at the WTA tournament in 2004 and 2013.
The American returned to the China Open in 2005 as the defending champion, with Williams having won the Australian Open that year.
However, after winning the Australian Open, Williams had one of the most injury-plagued seasons of her career, suffering with both an ankle and knee injury, which all came to a head at the China Open that year.
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Tiantian Sun stunned Serena Williams at the 2005 China Open
Williams arrived at the 2005 China Open as the fourth seed, which meant that she received an automatic bye to the second round. This is where she would face Chinese wildcard Tiantian Sun, who was the world number 127 at the time.
This was a first-ever meeting between the two players, as Sun stunned defending champion Williams by beating her 6-2, 7-6(7).
The defeat for Williams was a huge shock, and while she was full of praise for her opponent after the match, she admitted that her left knee injury was still bothering her.
“I’m disappointed I couldn’t perform better,” Williams said at the time. “Sun played well – she was ready for the match. Sun hit the ball well. I never expected a tough match like this – and I was struggling with my left knee. I’m very disappointed. I struggled all night. I played terrible.”
Williams did not play another match in 2005 after this defeat, as she called her season to an early end before returning at the Australian Open the next year.
This was the highest-ranked win of Sun’s entire career, but she did achieve some other successes.
Sun won one WTA Tour singles title and was able to achieve a career-high ranking of world number 77, but most of her success came on the doubles court. Sun won 11 WTA doubles titles, reached a career-high of world number 16 and also won the Australian Open mixed doubles title with Nenad Zimonjic in 2008, before retiring from tennis in 2010.
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While Sun caused one of the biggest upsets of Williams’ entire career, she is not the only player who has beaten her at the China Open.
Following her defeat to Sun, Williams did not return to the China Open until four years later, in the tournament’s first year as a WTA 1000 event. Williams won one match at this year’s tournament, but subsequently lost to 13th seed Nadia Petrova in a dramatic three setter.
| Year Serena Williams played the China Open | Result |
| 2004 | Won the title |
| 2005 | Lost in the second round to Tiantian Sun |
| 2009 | Lost in the third round to Nadia Petrova (13) |
| 2013 | Won the title |
| 2014 | Reached the quarter-finals, withdrew due to knee injury |
Williams made two more appearances at the China Open in her career, winning the title in 2013, before reaching the quarter-finals in 2014.
Despite reaching the quarter-finals of the China Open in 2014, Williams’ run came to an abrupt end after she withdrew due to a left knee injury.
Williams never played at the China Open again in her career, and while she has recently made her return to tennis, it appears unlikely that she will compete in Beijing again after missing this year’s tournament.
