Serena Williams’ disappointing night ended in less than an hour as she lost her opening match of the Silicon Valley Classic to Johanna Konta in the most lopsided defeat of her career.

When the 52-minute match ended 6-1 6-0 on a Williams forehand into the net, the 23-time Grand Slam champion walked off the court offering waves to the crowd that will hope she returns to the Bay Area again next year for a longer run than this early exit.

Williams had never won only one game in a match. She held serve to begin proceedings before Britain’s Konta reeled off the next 12.

The former world No.1 American won just two games at the 2014 WTA finals in Singapore, falling 6-0 6-2 to Simona Halep.

While sixth-seeded Williams was encouraged by her movement, she hardly looked like herself after Konta.

She double-faulted seven times and landed drop shots in the net. She missed returns and sprayed her groundstrokes long and wide.

Konta, who captured her first WTA title two years ago at Stanford, got on a roll and didn’t take a chance in letting Williams get back in it.

“It’s an absolute privilege for me to be on the same court as her,” Konta said after the match.

“She obviously wasn’t playing her best level or nowhere near it and I really just tried to play the match on my terms.”

The Briton, who has been ranked as high as world No.4, served six aces and won 83 per cent of her first-serve points.

The tournament is 36-year-old Williams’ fifth since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, last September and her first tournament since her straight-set Wimbledon final loss to Angelique Kerber.

Other first-round winners in San Jose were Romanian fifth-seed Mihaela Buzarnescu, Hungarian eighth seed Timea Babos, Heather Watson and Vera Lapko.