Serena Williams was unbeaten in Billie Jean King (BJK) Cup singles until her last ever match in the competition.
Williams won her first 14 singles matches in the BJK Cup, which was then known as the Fed Cup.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was also part of the winning USA Fed Cup team in 1999, when Williams was just 17 years old.
Williams lost two of her five doubles matches in the BJK/Fed Cup, but there was only one player who was able to beat her in singles.
Anastasija Sevastova is the only player to beat Serena Williams in the BJK Cup
Williams beat the likes of Elina Svitolina, Sara Errani and Camila Giorgi in her 14-match unbeaten run in BJK Cup singles before USA’s Qualifier tie against Latvia in 2020.
The 14th and final win of this streak came against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who Williams beat to give USA a 2-0 lead in Everett, Washington.
Ostapenko was able to keep the tie alive for Latvia after beating Sofia Kenin, but it was in Williams’ hands to complete victory for USA, as she took on Anastasija Sevastova.
Sum up Serena Williams’ career in one word
This was a second meeting between Sevastova and Williams, with their first taking place in the semifinals of the US Open in 2018.
Williams ended Sevastova’s best ever run at a Grand Slam after beating her 6-3, 6-0 at the US Open that year, but their BJK Cup meeting was very different.
Despite having three set points in the opening set of the match, Williams found herself a set down and needed to force a decider.
Sevastova would then win a second tie-break in the third set to beat Williams 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(4) to end her 14-match unbeaten streak in BJK Cup singles.
The now 35-year-old Latvian is still an active WTA player, but Sevastova has not played a match since losing in the first round of Australian Open qualifying earlier this year.
| Year | Serena Williams’ Result |
| 1999 (SF – USA vs Italy) | Williams beat Rita Grande, 6-1 6-1 |
| 2003 (R16 vs Czechia) | Williams beat Iveta Melzer, 7-5 6-1 |
| 2003 (R16 vs Czechia) | Williams beat Klara Koukalova, 6-2 6-2 |
| 2007 (QF vs Belgium) | Williams beat Caroline Maes, 6-1 6-4 |
| 2012 (World Group II vs Belarus) | Williams beat Olga Govortsova, 7-5 6-0 |
| 2012 (World Group II vs Belarus) | Williams beat Anastasia Yakimova, 5-7 6-1 6-1 |
| 2012 (QF vs Ukraine) | Williams beat Elina Svitolina, 6-2 6-1 |
| 2012 (QF vs Ukraine) | Williams beat Lesia Tsurenko, 6-3 6-2 |
| 2013 (QF vs Sweden) | Williams beat Johanna Larsson, 6-2 6-2 |
| 2013 (QF vs Sweden) | Williams beat Sofia Arvidsson, 6-2 6-1 |
| 2015 (World Group II vs Argentina) | Williams beat Maria Irigoyen, 7-5 6-0 |
| 2015 (QF vs Italy) | Williams beat Camila Giorgi, 7-6(5) 6-2 |
| 2015 (QF vs Italy) | Williams beat Sara Errani, 4-6 7-6(3) 6-3 |
| 2020 (Qualifier vs Latvia) | Williams beat Jelena Ostapenko, 7-6(4) 7-6(3) |
| 2020 (Qualifier vs Latvia) | Anastasija Sevastova beat Williams, 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(4) |
What did Serena Williams say after she lost her only tie for USA in the BJK Cup
Although Williams lost her only singles match against Sevastova, USA did win the tie against Latvia after Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands won the deciding doubles rubber.
The only BJK Cup tie Williams did lose when representing her nation came in 2015, when the USA were beaten by Italy.
Williams won both of her singles matches against Giorgi and Errani, but other results meant that the tie was level at 2-2, forcing a deciding doubles rubber.
She would then step up to play the doubles match alongside Alison Riske, but they would be beaten by the Italian pairing of Errani and Flavia Pennetta, as Italy claimed victory over USA.
Serena Williams would finish 2026 ranked — in the world if she came out of retirement
Fill in the blanks!
Despite winning both of her singles matches, Williams admitted that her performances had made her realise that she was not as ready for the clay court season as she thought.
“I need to go home and really train. I’m totally not as ready for clay-court season as I thought I was,” Williams said at the time, as reported by ESPN.
“Next time I’ll be really, really ready and I’ll know what to expect. Now I’m in the mindset of, ‘You know what, I’m not on hard court.’ I’m playing like I’m on hard court and I’m not. So I have to play and be ready to hit a thousand shots if necessary.”
Williams added, “I don’t think I ever really got the hang of it. I really struggled today in the wind, on both sides. I don’t know what side was worse for me. Usually I’m able to adjust, and it’s a little disappointing that I wasn’t able to adjust sooner.”
This was the last time that the USA did not reach the latter stages of the BJK Cup until this year, after they lost their qualifier tie against Belgium.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
