Madison Keys’ emotional press conference leaves fans ‘gutted’ after agonizing US Open loss
Dreams of an all-American U.S. Open finals were dashed Thursday when Madison Keys lost in three sets to No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who will face Coco Gauff for the women’s title.
Following the match, Keys let her emotions flow during her press conference, and as a result, garnered some support from her fan base.
“I think everyone at the start of the tournament would be really, really excited to be in the semis. Right now, it sucks,” Keys said, fighting back the tears.
The 28-year-old Keys won the first set, 6-0, before dropping the last two in tiebreakers, 6-7 (1) and 6-7 (10-5).
“Yeah I just think, being able to take this and turn it into a positive is really possible,” Keys said before stopping for 10 seconds to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Yeah, there’s a lot to be proud of and there’s still a ton of tennis to be played this season.”
At that point her interview ended as Keys, the No. 17 seed, wiped away more tears while walking off the podium.
After dominating the first set, Keys led 5-3 in the second and served for the match.
Tennis fans on social media rallied around Keys after the brutally honest display of emotions.
“I feel gutted for Madison Keys,” one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote.
“Omg yes are SWOLLEN. Like that type of crying makes your head hurt I feel so bad,” another person tweeted.
Another fan responded, “This is heartbreaking. I thought she was winning. It must be extremely hard to digest something like that in the sport. So much respect for her.”
Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion who had been just 1-5 in Grand Slam semifinals, will face Gauff, the No. 6 seed, on Saturday.
