US OPEN

September 5, 2026

Madison Keys

Press Conference

Z. Qinwen/M. Keys

1-6, 7-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Tough one today. Can you just take us through your perspective? What was going on maybe in your mind in the third set?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I mean, I feel like I obviously got off to a really good lead, and then I just got really -- I mean, got really scared, like I couldn't swing.

I don't know. Tennis just feels really hard right now, so I feel like that kind of took over.

Q. She said when it was 5-Love, she didn't feel like she was playing that bad. She thought you were playing that well. Did you feel like your level dropped at all or hers really came up that much?

MADISON KEYS: I mean, I think my level dropped, and she started to play better, yeah.

Q. How were you feeling coming into the tournament? When you say, tennis is hard right now, has this been how you've been feeling for a few months, a few weeks?

MADISON KEYS: Yeah, I mean, I just feel like I've kind of been struggling for a while now, and I feel like I was able to kind of play through it for a bit.

I'm sure everyone could kind of see that I was struggling a little bit, but inside it felt probably even bigger than that.

Yeah, some weeks are easier than others, and this week is obviously one of the harder ones just because you care so much. Yeah, I'm going to have to make some sort of changes.

Q. Madison, what were the specifics, do you think, of what turned the match around?

MADISON KEYS: Like, at the end, I think she started playing better; I started playing poorly. Then I felt like I couldn't play tennis anymore, and it just was -- it just felt like it was a much bigger deal than just playing a tennis match all of a sudden.

Q. Madison, I appreciate this is straight after the match, and you said you want to make some changes. I wonder, are there changes that you've been thinking about making and this maybe just pushes you towards them, or is that more of a broad statement when you just think you don't want to feel like this anymore?

MADISON KEYS: No, I think it's been something that's been building for a while. I just kind of keep pushing it off and pushing it off just because that's how the tennis world works. It's just to the point where I actually need to do something about it.