For Madison Keys, the number still sounds almost unreal. Over the past couple of days, she said, people have kept pointing out that this marks her 15th U.S. Open appearance — a journey that began in 2011, when she arrived in New York as a 16-year-old, and later included her memorable run to the final in 2017.
Back then, Keys entered the draw ranked No. 455, the lowest-ranked woman in the tournament field. She still managed to make history, becoming the youngest player to win a match at the U.S. Open in Queens since 2005.
Plenty has happened in the years since. Keys came within reach of capturing what she has called the “big-show Grand Slam,” added two more semifinal appearances in New York, and in 2025 claimed the Australian Open to secure the first Grand Slam title of her career.
There have also been painful chapters. Keys, now 31 and seeded No. 22, endured one of them at last year’s U.S. Open, when she exited in the first round after piling up 89 unforced errors while struggling with nerves. That backdrop made Tuesday’s straight-sets victory over unseeded Alina Korneeva feel especially meaningful as she continues chasing a first U.S. Open championship, because, as Keys noted, “it’s always hard to come back to a place where you last played and it was a tough loss.”
“I think that today is obviously tough,” Keys said, reflecting on the emotional challenge of returning to the same stage. “Because you go back on the court where you had a really tough loss and to go back out and play another first round, it’s always hard. To have that kind of lingering memory is tough.”
Keys didn’t recall how long it took to shake the lingering sting of the loss last year to Mexico’s Renata Zarazua. She just forgot about it. And Keys, who has been transparent about her mental health and battling nerves in the past, said that she still feels the tension ahead of Grand Slam tournaments and recently spoke with Jessica Pegula about it.
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Following her upset last year, Keys generated runs in the first three Grand Slam tournaments of 2026 — falling in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the French Open — and won the Eastbourne Open. But as she hit a milestone for U.S. Open appearances, an absence on her tennis résumé remains, and another run at Flushing Meadows could change that.
The tenor of women’s tennis has started to shift, too. When Keys broke into the professional space as a 14-year-old, she joined a group featuring Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale and Taylor Townsend referred to as the next generation of American women’s singles stars. Pegula eventually soared up the rankings, while Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Emma Navarro and Iva Jovic have, in recent years building to the present, been labeled as the future of the sport.
That puts Keys at a critical juncture. She entered play as the No. 22 seed — a major drop from the No. 6 of last year. But she flashed vintage moments Tuesday, including when she sent a strong backhand winner past an outstretched Korneeva racket to gain an advantage and set up a third set point. That time, she converted as a shot from Korneeva went long and Keys yelled in celebration.
Keys, she was reminded by a reporter during her post-match news conference, has now spent more than half her life playing professional tennis. It’ll take another decade-plus to match Venus Williams’ mark of 26, and counting, U.S. Open appearances. But a low point in the tournament last year added meaning to a day like Tuesday, as a quest that’ll take two more weeks and six more wins — while being 15 years in the making — begins to form.
“It’s just I think that in a lot of ways it’s been a huge blessing I started so young,” Keys said of turning pro, “just because I really got to get into it at such a young age and when I didn’t really even understand what was going on, so I was able to just kind of experience it in a really different way.
“But it’s definitely been, I think, the most interesting because I feel like as a person I’ve changed a lot throughout the years and kind of just evolved as a person while getting to kind of do the same job.”