Just two days ago, Madison Keys pulled off a miraculous comeback to book a spot in the third round of the US Open. On Saturday, she suffered arguably the worst loss of her career.
Keys, the 2025 Australian Open champion, erased five match points on Thursday to secure a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Anna Bondar. She seemed on her way to a win over Qinwen Zheng this Saturday, especially after grabbing a 5-0 lead in the third set.
And yet, Zheng managed to win seven consecutive games to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat and book a spot in the fourth round of the US Open.
While this was undoubtedly an impressive performance from Zheng, fans couldn’t believe that Keys squandered a double-break advantage in the deciding set.
Reuters/Jerry Lai.
“Madison Keys just had the greatest choke of all time,” one fan said.
“Madison Keys??? I can’t believe what I just watched,” a second fan wrote.
“Madison Keys – I …. yeah I don’t have any words for what I just witnessed,” another fan commented.
“I can’t even comprehend how it’s even possible for Madison Keys to absolutely collapse like that,” another fan wrote.
The dream stays alive for Zheng.
Unfortunately for Zheng, her ranking dropped dramatically in 2025 due to an elbow injury. Although she’s well below her career high of No. 4 on the WTA Tour, she’s slowly but surely climbing back up the rankings.
Zheng, an Olympic gold medalist, will face either Iga Swiatek or Marie Bouzkova in the round of 16.
If Zheng keeps up her winning ways, she could face Naomi Osaka or Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. For now though, she’ll prepare for a Labor Day showdown with Swiatek or Bouzkova.
