London Olympic bronze medallist, Saina, who has won the Indonesia title three times in the past, failed to breach the defence of Carolina and lost 22-24 11-21 to the All England and World Champion after a 47-minute battle in women's singles competition.
Eight seed Saina had lagged behind 7-13 in the opening game at one stage but the Indian showed tremendous grit to fight back and grab the lead 16-14 and then 19-16, only to let the advantage slip as the Spaniard earned the bragging rights.