Venus Williams achieves personal feat for the first time since 2018 after advancing in Guangzhou Open doubles

Venus Williams and Janice Tjen’s journey at the Guangzhou Open has been extended.

Williams and Tjen began their doubles campaign earlier this week, defeating Ekaterine Gorgodse and Kimberley Zimmermann 6-0, 7-5 in the Chinese city.

The American-Indonesian duo continued their excellent run of form in defeating Lyudmyla Kichenok and Makoto Ninomiya on Wednesday.

It was a comfortable victory for Williams and Tjen, who combined to win 69 per cent of their first-serve points and convert five of their nine break-points opportunities.

As a result, Williams has now ended a barren personal run on the WTA Tour – a streak lasting over eight years.

Venus Williams reaches a WTA Tour semi-final for the first time since 2018

Prior to the 2026 Guangzhou Open, Venus Williams had not advanced to a WTA Tour-level semi-final since the 2018 Indian Wells WTA 1000 event.

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and multiple Olympic gold medallist, defeated Sorana Cirstea, Serena Williams, Anastasia Sevastova and Carla Suarez Navarro en route to the 2018 Indian Wells semi-finals.

Daria Kasatkina ended the American’s run in California, triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Kasatkina went on to lose in the final to Naomi Osaka, 3-6, 2-6.

If Williams reaches the final of the Guangzhou Open Women’s Doubles event, she would end a nine-year personal streak on the WTA circuit.

The American last reached a WTA Tour final in 2017, losing in the WTA Finals to former world number one and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki.

Who will Venus Williams and Janice Tjen play next?

Williams and Tjen’s next opponents are yet to be confirmed.

In the Guangzhou Open semi-finals, the duo could either face Polina Kudermetova and Maria Timofeeva or fourth seeds Eri Hozumi and Andreja Klepac.

If Williams and Tjen advance to the final in China, they will face one of these three pairs: Isabelle Haverlag and Zhibek Kulambayeva, Fanny Stollar and Fang-Hsien Wu, or I-Hsuan Cho and Yi-Tsen Cho.

Williams last won a WTA title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships. Paired with her sister, Serena, Venus triumphed in the women’s doubles event.