American Madison Keys started her Grand Slam season with a breakthrough at the Australian Open. She ended it with a thud on Monday, Aug. 25 at the 2025 U.S. Open
Keys, the No. 6 seed in the women’s singles draw, suffered a shocking upset at the hands of Renata Zarazua in an opening-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium that lasted more than three hours. Zarazua lost the first set in a tiebreaker (12-10) and trailed Keys 3-0 in the second set before mounting a dramatic comeback to become the first Mexican women’s tennis player to secure a win over a top-10 opponent at the U.S. Open.
Zarazua, who is listed at just 5-foot-3, entered the event ranked No. 89 in the WTA rankings. The 27-year-old won a tiebreaker in the second set (7-3) and then took the third set, 7-5, after Keys had battled back from being down a break.
Keys was undone by 89 unforced errors and 14 double faults, succumbing to Zarazua’s methodical style over more than three hours on court in her first appearance at the U.S. Open since winning the 2025 Australian Open over No. 1 Arya Sabalenka. Keys has only her first match at the U.S. Open only twice over 14 career appearances at Flushing Meadows, which includes a runner-up finish in 2017 and a run to the semifinals in 2023.
Her final mistake was a forehand into the net that brought Zarazua to tears as she celebrated a win few saw coming. She will face unseeded Diane Parry of France in a second-round match at the U.S. Open on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
“Coming into the match I was like almost crying because I was really nervous,’ Zarazua said in a post-match interview on the court after beating Keys. ‘The crowd made it so chill for me so I was loosening up. Thank you for staying. I know my game is a bit tricky. So sometimes people get a bit bored.’
