Arguably the biggest upset of the 2025 US Open so far occurred on Monday (August 25) in the women's singles draw.
No. 6 seed Madison Keys was on the unfortunate end of a 7-6 (12-10) 6-7 (3-7) 5-7 loss to unseeded Mexican Renata Zarazua on day two of the Grand Slam event.
It means the American is the highest seed to exit the tournament at this point in both the women's and men's competitions.
In what was a gruelling contest that lasted over three hours and included the first two sets heading to a tie break, Zarazua landed the decisive break in the 12th and final game of the deciding set to knock out the reigning Australian Open winner.
The Mexican's stunning victory was the first of her career against a top-10 ranked player.
Keys', who was a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2017, was the cause of her own downfall against Zarazua, as she committed 89 unforced errors and recorded 14 double faults.
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Keys' honest reaction to losing against Zarazua
Post-defeat, the world no. 6 reflected on her display and the reasons for struggling on the court against Zarazua.
"I feel like for the first time in a while, my nerves really got the better of me, and it kind of became a little bit paralysing," the American explained.
"I want to win, but feeling like winning matters just way too much, and I couldn’t quite separate myself from that. Then once you start playing badly, it kind of all snowballs," she added.
The shock defeat of the 30-year-old will be a disappointment to the home crowd, as she was regarded as one of the main American hopefuls going into the year's final major.
After starting the year with plenty of promise, thanks to her triumph Down Under, Keys has failed to make the the final four of a Grand Slam.
She lost in the quarter-final of the French Open to compatriot Coco Gauff, before suffering a third round loss to the unseeded Laura Siegemund at Wimbledon.
With Keys out, Gauff (3), Jessica Pegula (4), Amanda Anisimova (8) and Emma Navarro (10) are the main American hopefuls left in the women's draw.
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