17 and counting: Venus Williams ends 2026 with a whimper as Katie Boulter and Maria Sakkari advance in Hong Kong

The procession of losing WTA matches prolongs for Venus Williams. Try as she might, the 46-year-old continues to find herself the wrong end of results. The latest came in the Hong Kong Open, falling 6-2, 6-3 to fellow countrywoman Mary Stoiana.

The World No.117 has reached quarter-finals in her last two WTA tournaments that she featured in and was hopeful of making more progress as the Asian swing draws nearer to a conclusion.

It took her 33 minutes to wrap up the first set, having points to win the all-but-one game. After surviving break points in the opening game, the seven-time Grand Slam champion won just a single point in the next three games, falling behind. Stoiana gave herself a more sturdy buffer with a double break before serving the first set out with ease.

It was a familiar position for Williams, who last won the first set in a singles match at the 2026 Australian Open. She managed to find her feet on court, stringing together a number of routine holds. However, there was no trouble on the Stoiana serve, and Williams' resistance crumbled. The 23-year-old won the remaining four games to sail into the second round with either the No.1 seed, Sorana Cirstea, or Maria Timofeeva as her next point of call.

As for Williams, that is now 17 consecutive singles matches without a win. This goes all the way back to the 2025 DC Open where she played her first singles match in over a year, defeating Payton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in a statement win. From then on, she has barely won a set, let alone a match, five to be precise, with the most recent occurring versus the World No.445 Irina-Camelia Begu at the at the Bad Homburg Open in June.

Williams continues to plod along, trying her best to rekindle that spark she once had on court. However, her best days are most certainly behind her as she continues to accept wildcards for WTA events to no avail. 14 singles matches played in 2026, 14 defeats in a winless season for the legendary American.

Elsewhere in Hong Kong, Katie Boulter did not have it all go her own way in a sketchy ending to what looked like a comfortable straights set win. She managed to get over the line 6-2, 7-6(2) against Viktorija Golubic but was displeased with the umpire, as a decision did not go her way.

The No.8 seed reached the final in 2024 before an early retirement last year bumped her further down the WTA rankings. Now in a much healthier position in the top 50 after a resurgent season, the British No.1 sees a chance to join the likes of Sonay Kartal and Harriet Dart in the headlines.

After going 2-0 down, Boulter won the next six games without even facing a break point. It was a commanding way to wrap up the first set, and the momentum continued to be on her side of the court as she threatened to see it out rather quickly.

Boulter led 5-1 in the second. Aside from one tense service game, she had dropped just two points. A Golubic hold forced Boulter to see it out on her own terms, but it would not be so simple. Boulter went to complain to the umpire about a point not being replayed, arguing that there was audible noise from outside causing a distraction. She was unsettled and broken twice when trying to get over the line, missing a match point. It went to a tiebreak, and Boulter found her feet in to confirm her spot in the second round, where American Claire Liu will be her opponent after she defeated qualifier Tatiana Prozorova 6-2, 6-4.

"It was interesting," Boulter said after the match. "I was playing some really good tennis. I feel like I should have closed it out but a couple of things happened. There was a little bit of interesting judgement which got under my skin a little bit and, usually, I'm pretty good at batting it off but I was a little tired. It's end of season and it seemed to get to me but lesson learned, I managed to get over the line."

Maria Sakkari was one of the other big names in first round action and managed to prevail in fine fashion. Lucky loser Carol Young-suh Lee was disposed of 6-1, 6-4 with little fuss.

It was a dominant start for the Greek, exploding out of the blocks into a 5-0 lead. Lee got on the board, but too little too late. It was a much more competitive second set as the American survived a series of break point efforts. After trailing 4-3 on serve, Sakkari moved up the gears. Three games later, the match was over, dropping just two points in that burst, which included a break to love. An Aussie will be her next test, but whether it is Maya Joint or Maddison Inglis is a mystery for the time being.